CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

It is a well-known fact by practitioners and scholars that local government is a viable tool for rural transformation and delivery of social service to the people. Whether unitary or federal political system; the strategic importance of local government to the development the process is not in doubt. However, this is contingent in the relationship that exists among levels or tiers of government (Enefiok and Ekpe, 2014).

            According to Karingi,(2003), globally, federalizing necessitates the combination of self and shared rule. It accommodates multi-level a government that authorizes autonomous political units to perform its peculiar functions within a political saturation. Despite the imitating of formal decentrali0zation poli0cies, unsuitable intergovernmental relations can engender this relationship between central and local governments. In Nigeria, local government by constitutional provision stands as a district-level vis-à-vis federal and state government

            Enefiok and Ekpe (2014) posit that the concept of intergovernmental relations took the centre stage at a period when there were numerous and complex problem facing three levels of government. They argued that the concept has its beginning in Nigeria around 1950s with the establishment of the advisory body on intergovernmental relations. This was necessary because of numerous and complex problem confronting three levels of government in our heterogeneous society. This interrelationship becomes necessary for the achievement of national integration for a harmonious co-existence of the parts, as well as the whole for sold governance and meaningful development.

            However, six patterns of relationship in Nigeria intergovernmental relationship in Nigeria intergovernmental relations an identified by Enefiok and Ekpe (2014) are:

1. Federal-state relations
2. Federal-state local relations
3. Federal-local relations
4. Inter-state relations
5. State-local relations
6. Inter-local relations

This research work this, exotic the impact of intergovernmental relations on local government Administration, the Abuja Municipal Area council (AMAC), Abuja as its concerns, and the consequence of such relationship on good governance and project implementation for development purposes.

1. 1. BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The wave of popular pressure for political reforms that spread across most developing countries in the period stretching from the late 1980s to the mid-1990 culminated in the restoration and establishment of democratic institution. In most countries, where transition to elected government occurred, the most visible sign of the changes that took place was the repositioning of the third tier of government to its proper position for grassroots development. Indeed, general political reform is went hand in hand with economic reforms. Thus, during the 19902 and beyond, a considerable amount of discussion took place and centered on the question of good government to improve the situation in the rural areas (Maidoki and Philip, 2009).

The 1999 Nigeria constitution stipulates the function and powers of the levels of government in such a way that no one level of government can single-handedly perform the functions of service delivery to the people. Cooperation has thus become an important prerequisite for governance (Shah, 2006, cited in Solomon, 2014). Nigeria Federation like most other federal systems of government is characterized by diverse ethnic groups languages, culture, political power. The need to cater for these diverse elements and ensure service delivery at the grassroots level necessitated the creation of local government. According to  Lawson (2011), in a unitary system of government, there is a strong centre and weak constitutes. In a confederal state however, the constituents are stronger than the centre. In a federal system, every unit is granted autonomy, to decide whether to stay in the union or to back out. However, event over the years in Nigeria’s Federation have shown the over-dominance of the federal government vis-a -vis inter governmental relations, which is structurally improper. The existing mechanism and institutions for intergovernmental policy coordination are very weak and need to be important to be improved and strengthened.

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