THE STATE JOINT LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT IN NIGERIA AND THE POLITICS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY

Abstract

The State Joint Local Government Account is a constitutional creation that pools the statutory allocations of all local governments in a State together for onward distribution by the State to its local governments. The Account has been a recurring decimal in both the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions and the problems that have been associated with the conception and management of the Account have lingered. The local government is the closest tier of government to the people in Nigeria, yet the population in it is denied the benefits of its existence. The failure of the local governments in the area of service delivery has made the citizens to lose trust in government as an institution. Many Nigerians crave for change in the local government system as presently constituted in order to not only bring it in conformity with present day realities but also to make it live up to the expectations of the people who have been yearning for grassroots development. This paper which is purely documentary review is therefore aimed at investigating the management and challenges of State Joint Local Government Account and the implications of this on the local government autonomy. The findings of this research are that excessive control especially through the (SJLGA,) and paucity of funds occasioned by improper management of the SJLGA have combined to hamstring or erode of the autonomy of local government. Consequently, it is recommended that the provisions of the State Joint Local Government Account be reviewed in 1999 Constitution review in order to salvage the local governments’ deplorable financial situation being brought about by the improper management of this Joint Account.