Safeguarding Local Governments From A Third Force

BY TUNDE OGUNMOLA

Local governance in Nigeria has undergone far-reaching transformations shaped by colonial legacies, constitutional reforms, political transitions and persistent struggles over autonomy and accountability. Understanding these historical trajectories is critical to appreciating the complexities of grassroots politics and the practical challenges confronting effective local governance today.

Any meaningful discussion on the current state of local governments in Nigeria must necessarily return to the landmark Local Government Reforms of 1976. What is obtainable in today’s local government system is largely a product of those reforms, which fundamentally redefined grassroots administration in the country.

The 1976 Local Government Reform, in particular, laid the foundation for modern local governance in Nigeria. It introduced a uniform national system of local government, constitutionally recognised local governments as the third tier of government, and provided a framework for grassroots participation and development planning. Its key features included the establishment of single-tier local governments with clearly defined mandates; the introduction of elected chairmen and councillors; recognition of local governments as autonomous administrative units; the creation of statutory local government service commissions; and the assignment of core responsibilities such as primary education, markets, roads, sanitation and primary healthcare. Crucially, it also introduced statutory allocations from the Federation Account.

Without exaggeration, the 1976 reform provided the first nationwide blueprint for grassroots governance, laying the groundwork for fiscal decentralisation, administrative capacity-building, uniformity across states and enhanced political participation at the local level. These reforms were later entrenched in the 1979 Constitution, further reinforcing the role of local governments within Nigeria’s federal structure.

With the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, democratic governance was restored at the local level after years of military rule. Local governments re-emerged as vital institutions for consolidating democracy and delivering development at the grassroots. Under the 1999 Constitution, local governments were granted elected chairmen, vice chairmen and councillors, legislative councils with law-making powers, and statutory functions covering markets, cemeteries, local roads, environmental sanitation and primary education. The Constitution also introduced the Joint State-Local Government Account, known as Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC).

However, the JAAC has become one of the most controversial aspects of Nigeria’s local government system. In practice, it has enabled extensive state-level interference in local government finances. Many state governors have not only usurped the powers and functions of local governments but have also short-changed them financially, disbursing meagre sums that barely cover recurrent expenditures such as salaries, let alone capital projects in roads, healthcare and education, despite increases in federal allocations to the councils.

It was against this backdrop that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the 15th National Executive Committee meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Friday, December 19, 2025, issued a stern warning to state governors. The President said he might be compelled to issue an executive order to enforce direct allocations to local governments should governors fail to comply with the Supreme Court ruling affirming financial autonomy for the 774 councils.

The President’s position emphasises his long-held belief in grassroots governance and reflects a deliberate effort to allow local governments to breathe by shielding them from the overbearing influence of state governors. However, even if direct allocations to local governments eventually become a reality through an executive order, the struggle for the sustenance and survival of the third tier of government will not automatically be over.

As laudable as direct access to federal allocations may be, it is imperative to shine a spotlight on what may be described as a “third force” within the third tier of government – the leadership and management of local councils themselves. Critics have long argued that increased federal allocations often translate into personal enrichment for governors and local government chairmen, with little or no commensurate improvement in service delivery. Consequently, many Nigerians question what tangible benefits local communities stand to gain if councils receive their allocations directly.

That concern, however, is not without exceptions. Local councils in Lagos State have demonstrated that increased resources can indeed translate into development when properly managed. My recent tour of some Lagos councils during their 100-day celebrations revealed notable investments in critical social services within a short period, an experience that starkly contrasts with what obtains in many other parts of the country. Lagos, in this regard, stands as a microcosm of what effective urban grassroots governance can achieve.

The prebendal use of local government funds must therefore be firmly discouraged. As the President works to remove financial bottlenecks confronting local councils, anti-corruption agencies must complement these efforts by intensifying oversight at the grassroots level.

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), a unit within the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tasked with combating financial crimes and disrupting illicit financial flows, has a critical role to play. Working in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other relevant agencies, the NFIU should trace, monitor and investigate how local governments utilise federal allocations and decisively sanction erring chairmen to serve as a deterrent.

It should, however, be noted that the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) does not expressly grant the NFIU or the ICPC the powers to discipline or remove elected local government officials.

The NFIU is empowered to monitor, analyse and track local government financial transactions, issue directives to banks on how such funds should be handled, flag suspicious transactions, freeze or restrict accounts in line with due process, and forward intelligence to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

Recently, the Director/CEO of the NFIU, Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, disclosed that the unit has mechanisms in place to monitor fund disbursement to local government areas following the Supreme Court judgement on direct allocations.

“The NFIU is fully committed and involved, with all mechanisms in place to trace local government funds and support ICPC investigations and other agencies,” she said.

For President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to meaningfully take root at the grassroots, such assurances must go beyond rhetoric. This is a moment for decisive action. With Nigerians increasingly demanding sustainable development at the local level, the role of financial intelligence and anti-graft institutions has never been more critical.

Ultimately, every nation rests on the foundation of its local governments. It is at this closest tier of governance that children attend their first schools, markets either thrive or decline, infrastructure is maintained or neglected, and hope is either reinforced or eroded. Governance at this level shapes the quality of life of the average citizen more directly than national institutions.

Building a prosperous society, therefore, begins with strengthening political culture, cultivating ethical leadership and institutionalising good governance at the grassroots. When these forces align, communities rise, and when communities rise, the nation rises with them.

Tunde Ogunmola is a journalist, author, public servant and a graduate of Local Government and Development Studies. He writes from Lagos. He can be reached at babs.ogunmola@yahoo.com