Local Government Autonomy and Fiscal Viability in Nigeria: Evidence from Taraba State

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2020-09-09

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Department of Public Administration, Nasarawa State University, Keffi.

Abstract

jAs a tier in the politico-fiscal federalism arrangement of Nigeria, the local government has a jconstitutional mandate to deliver governance at the critical grassroot level, for the attainment of jpolitico-economic development and globalism. The capacity of a local government to deliver on jlhe mandate, however, is dependent on its fiscal pedigree. This study contends that the inadequate jfiscal capacity of the local government in Nigeria is a consequence of the contrived constitutional 'and legal machinations, intended to institutionalise dependency in the inter-governmental fiscal relations. The objective of this study is to examine the viability of the much coveted local government autonomy, in the light of the weak fiscal capacity. Given the level of imbalance in the .existing fiscal relations among the various tiers of government, Equilibrium Theory provided the framework of the study. In the expository analysis, adopting documentary research method, data were gathered from published sources, including local government councils’ records, Nigeria’s Constitutions (as amended), Federation Revenue Act 2002, and academic journals, among others. Oral telephone interviews were also held with some top officials of council managements, to clarify observed ambiguities. It was found that the forces of the constitutional assignment of "dehydrated” revenue sources to local governments, the “inequitable” revenue allocation formula prescribed by the Legislature, and the weak institutional apparatuses, interplayed to clog or wither •the kinetic energy in local government councils, thereby reducing the effort to inert status. In .(conclusion, local government autonomy, without fiscal viability, as the case of Taraba State, may jbe counter-productive. It was therefore recommended, among others, that constitutional and legal jreforms, aimed at adjusting the extant fiscal imbalance, should be undertaken by the Federal Government, and other relevant authorities.

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Keywords

Local Govermnent, Local Autonomy, Fiscal Viability, Grassroot Development, jConstitution, Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations.

Citation

Kanyo, J.B. (2018). Tax defaulters and the damage they do to the economy, lecture delivered at the Institute of Tax Administration, Lagos, November. King, M.C. (1988). Localism and nation building, Ibadan, Nigeria, Spectrum Books. Lee, M.L. & Liu, B. (1988). Measuring socio-economic effect when using income as quality of life indicator, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 47(2); 197. Mabonguje, A. (1995). Local governance and the concept of social capital, Workshop on governance and democracy, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Obafemi Awolowo University, Malthouse Press Ltd. Modibbo, A.S. (2017). Nigeria and the challenge of fiscal federalism, Keffi Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 5(1); 128. Masgrave, R.A. & Musgrave P.B (1980). Public finance in theory and practice, N.Y., McGraw- Hill Book Company. Musgrave, R.A. (1959). The theory ofpublic finance, N.Y. McGraw-Hill, Book Company.

URI

https://keffi.nsuk.edu.ng/handle/20.500.14448/2609

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