According to Ezeani (2005:257) there are a number of reasons why local
government are created and they are as follow:
- To assist the central or state government to maintain law and order.
- To complement the efforts of central or federal or state government in the
provision of series of services within their areas of authority. Local government all
over the world is seen as an efficient agent for providing services that are local in
character. According to Mackenzie (1961:14) in Ezeani (2006) ‘local government
exists to provide services and it must be judged by its success in providing services
up to a standard measurable by a national inspectorate. It is argued that because of
its closeness to an area, local government can provide certain services far more
effectively and efficiently than the central or federal government (Ezeani 2004:40).
Local Government particularly in developing countries is seen as a veritable
instrument for rural development. Consequently, all over the world, local
governments have been assigned some functions under the law they include;
- To assist the central and state governments carry out their functions and policies,
especially those areas that require local knowledge and participation for successful
execution.
- To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local
wishes and initiatives by devolving or delegating them to local representative
bodies.
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- To assist the Central or Federal and State Government in resolving conflicts in the
rural areas.
- To sensitize and mobilize the various communities in their areas of authority in
order to get involved in the overall development of their areas.
- To facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the grassroots of
our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potential.
- Local governments act as a medium through which the federal or state government
promotes mutual understanding and meaningful communication between people
who are resident in the rural areas (Olisa, 1990:93).
Other rationales for the creation of the local government according to the
National Guidelines for Local Government Reform (1976:1) include;
- To provide a training ground for democracy. Local government serves to promote
democracy at the grassroots. This is the view espoused by the democratic
participatory school which argued that local government functions to bring about
democracy and to afford opportunities for political participation to the citizen as
well as to educate and socialize him politically (Ezeani 2004:37).
- To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local
wishes and initiative by developing or delegating them to local representative
bodies and
- To mobilization material resources through the involvement of members of the
public in their development.
- Acting as a veritable instrument for development (Ola 1984:14) The local
government can do a lot to promote human development index which is very low
compared to that of other countries, the roles of local government towards the
development process includes;
a. Helping to inculcate in people positive citizenship attitudes, such as
consideration, self-control, community responsibility and identity.
b. Providing basic community services which is both to improve the quality of
people lives and enable the community attract economic activities. Such basic
community services includes, primary health care, basic primary education,
provision of basic infrastructure etc and
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c. Helping people, especially in the rural areas to organize themselves for the
mobilization and effective management of community resources and central
government programmes respectively.
According to Afegbua (2010) Local government is conceived as a platform for
political education, a forum for breeding politicians; and a training ground for national
politicians as a means of gaining access to power, pressure and control as the case
maybe. Furthermore, Chukwuemeka (2003:195) posited that the basic reasons that
justify the creation of local government system are:
1. Local government is more responsive to the needs of the citizens than large units
of government.
2. It is the government at the grass root and near enough to the people, and
therefore being able to articulate and tackle the problems of the citizenry.
3. The existence of local government recognizes the superior capacity of the local
people to understand and conduct their own local affairs. The people themselves
are able to secure a closer adaptation of public services to local needs than they
to the central or state governments, looking at the locality from afar.
4. Local governments encourage people to become involved in the lives of their
communities.
5. Naturally, people tend to resist imposition from above (outside) but they tend to
defend what they themselves have decided upon the way people look at the
command from an outside body than what they have decided to do by
themselves.
6. Local Government is a form of decentralization under the centralization of power
and foundation in the centre which might be tended to high handedness of
government and deposition.
7. Local Government is intended to relieve the central/state government of
excessive amount of business from the center and thus, decongest the national
and state governments.
8. Local government upholds personal liberty.
9. Local government is an instrument of political education, providing a form of
socialization for political space for its participants.
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10.Local government helps to pool resources together at the local level for the
provision of a wide range of essential social service