The constitution of 1999 ended decades of civil and political unrest, putting the country on a course towards democratization. Decentralization played an important part in the restructuring of the Nigerian state which is divided into 36 states plus one Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). The federal structure of Nigeria provides for far-reaching powers for the states. Although the responsibilities of the so called local government areas of which 774 are enshrined in the Nigerian constitution states have the power to amend the core tasks of local government areas. The local government areas are headed by councils who are elected for a period of three years most recently in 2007. New local elections, are planned to take place following the presidential elections in April 2011.
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Nigeria’s achievements in the first decade of the twenty-first century in the field of local government have been diverse. Local government areas have received extensive responsibilities varying from the arrangement of the collection of taxes to the issuing of licenses for car ownership. In theory, local government is obligated to perform a wide variety of duties. In practice these obligations are not always met due to lack of training of local government officials, minimal participation by the people, mismanagement of resources and even undue interference by higher government levels. The Association of Local Government Authorities of Nigeria (ALGON) is active moving between the localities and higher government levels to improve this relationship.
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In light of these problems in 2003 the Technical Committee on the Review of Local Government Councils was set up. Problems surrounding unclear demarcation of legal boundaries, the fiscal autonomy of localities and the arrangements of local elections were discussed. Practical adjustments to the system of local government can be formed along the lines of a new national strategy roadmap to develop the economy of Nigeria and eradicate poverty named; vision 20-2020. Other projects partially meant to improve local government such as the Joint Committee on Constitution Review (2003) and the National Political Reform Conference (2005) can be further supported by vision 20-2020 to re-energize the Nigerian process of democratization and decentralization backed by industrial en economic development.
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