Comparative Study of Local Government Systems in Nigeria and United States of America (USA)
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Date
2018-12
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lapai International Journal of Administration
Abstract
The operational challenges facing local government system in Nigeria have seriously curtailed its optimal performance at meeting the needs of the people at the grassroots compared to the United States of America (USA) where the structural arrangement of the local government administration has contributed immensely to sustainable development of the country. This paper carried out a comparative study and appraisal of local government structures in Nigeria and USA in order to unveil the extent to which local administration has responded to the development aspirations of the people in both countries. The paper, which relied on secondary source, found that local government system is better organized structurally and legally in USA, and have recorded tremendous successes in meeting the development aspirations of her citizens as opposed to Nigeria where the reverse is the case. The poor performance of local government administration in Nigeria was linked to concerts of internal factors, including corruption, weak funding and lack of financial autonomy, among others. Nigeria should domesticate much of the USA local government model in order to make the governance system at the local level more democratic, self sustaining and more responsive to the development needs of Nigerians.
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Keywords
Local Government,, Administration,, Federal States,, Nigeria,, USA.