THE CHALLENGES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTONOMY AND GRASS ROOT DEVELOPMENT IN NASARAWA STATE (A CASE STUDY OF KOKONA LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

ABSTRACT This work is on the challenges of local government autonomy and grass root development in Nigeria with special reference to Kokona Local Government. The main aim of the research is to uncover local government autonomy in Nigeria, the various areas of autonomy, the lapses inherent in the constitutional foundation that have succeeded in making local government an irrelevant federating unit of the Nigerian government. The population of the study comprises of 452 staff of Kokona Local government area. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires. The researcher adopted general system theory for the study. The study revealed that Local government is an intermediary player between the federal authority and the grassroots in a given society. Adequate and effective local authority indicates that government policies and activities reached the populace. The study recommend that Section 7 (1) of the constitution and all the phrasing appearing after the words ‘and accordingly’ should be deleted - Insist on full observance of the provisions on democratically elected local councils to avoid appointment of caretaker committees, there should be provision that vested Executive powers to the chairmen and councilors on matters that are local in nature and structure, finance, establishment, composition and functions of local government councils should not be vested in state house of assembly but the constitution. The study recommended that there should be provision that vested executive powers to the chairman and councilors on matters that are local in nature, the study also recommended that the tenure of the councils needs to be stated, preferable four years so that elections can be held simultaneously with the state.