Accountability and Transparency in Local Government Administration in Nigeria during the Fourth Republic

Abstract

Accountability and transparency are regarded as fundamental keys for good governance in any given society. Local governments are established to bring government closer to the people, and in meeting the needs of the people, officials elected to serve at the local level must be accountable and transparent in the discharge of their responsibilities. The public sector in Nigeria is regarded as being highly corrupt with officials negating the principles of accountability.  The design of the desk study was descriptive. We relied entirely on secondary data, comprising journal articles, relevant books, official institutional publications, newspapers and materials downloaded from the internet. Utilizing democratic-participatory theory and institutional theory as theoretical constructs, we argue that the institutional measures ensuring accountability and transparency are non-existent at the local level. We identified various factors that impede accountability and transparency in administration of local governments in Nigeria. The state governors have capitalized on some loopholes in the constitution to establish a regime that completely negates accountability and transparency principles at the local level. Section 162 of the 1999 constitution should be reviewed to abrogate JAAC, while institutions for ensuring accountability and transparency should be established and made operational at the local government level.