ANOMALOUS STATE-LOCAL RELATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

OLANREWAJU, ADEKUNLE OLADIPUPO and Covenant University, Theses (2022) ANOMALOUS STATE-LOCAL RELATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA. ["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined] thesis, Covenant University.

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Abstract

State-Local government relations is one of the most disputed subjects in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The controversies are more complicated by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution that made the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the local government a residual obligation of state governments. While the fundamental issues that have dominated the analyses of state-local government relations in Nigeria have concentrated on local government autonomy and fiscal relations between the local governments and state government, little is known about how the nature of state-local government relations affects rural development, particularly in terms of the provisions of physical infrastructural facilities. Thus, to fill this gap, this study examines state-local government relations in Lagos state within the purview of its effects on rural development which is one of the core functions of local governments. The study adopts the decentralisation and rural development theories, which are associated with the distribution of powers and functions amongst tiers of government and how the politics of vertical intergovernmental relations affects rural development efforts and expectations. To achieve its objectives, the study adopts the descriptive and analytical research designs. Qualitative data was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. The study also made use of secondary data to corroborate primary data and for literature review. The primary data obtained were analysed via thematic and content analysis. The results of the content analysis were presented using frequency distribution tables and simple percentages, while thematic analysis presented data under themes. The findings of this study support the existing narrative that local governments have not been effective agents of rural development in Lagos state but have been puppets of the state government. This is because the local and state governments in Lagos state relate within an hierarchical structure that is skewed in favour of the state government; such that exhibits supremacy of the state government, particularly in the distribution or utilization of funds and in the exercise of political powers. The inferiority of the local governments and their dependence on the state government has consequently necessitated a disconnect between the local governments and the people. Elected local government officials are no longer effectively accountable to the people; instead, the people look to the state government to meet their needs, leading to deficiencies in actualizing rural development. Thus, the study argues that healthy state-local governments’ relations is germane to rural development. It recommends that to make the local governments an efficient third tier of government and the engine room for rural development in Lagos State, there is the need for the revision of the 1999 Constitution to grant more autonomy to local governments. It also recommends that cooperation between the state and local governments should not be based on party politicking that deprives non-ruling party wards or constituencies access to development

Item Type:	Thesis (["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined])
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Intergovernmental relations, State-local relations, rural, rural development, Lagos State
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	AKINWUMI
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2022 11:56
Last Modified:	16 Dec 2022 11:56
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/16496

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