A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUTONOMY AND DEMOCRATIC STATUS OF

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COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN FRANCE AND NIGERIA RESPECTIVELY


A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUTONOMY AND DEMOCRATIC STATUS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE AND NIGERIA


ABSTRACT

The study of Local Governments of other nations is vital to the existence of any given state as it assists the state to assess its progress and improve on what it has, in terms of structure and operations. The study among other things examined the operations of Local Governments in France and Nigeria in terms of autonomy and democratic tendencies. A parallel description of both institutions was used to ascertain these objectives. Findings revealed that Local Government in both countries are established by laws, have peculiar structures, had undergone several reforms, lack financial autonomy and have experienced political instability and military regimes. However, it was discovered that Local Government in France is more autonomous, transparent, and accountable than that of Nigeria. Thus, the level of devolution in France is closely higher than deconcentration as against Nigeria, where the level of deconcentration is greater than devolution. The Nigerian Government must respect the provisions in the constitution that grants autonomy to local governments and seek ways to ensure transparency, accountability and make provision for democratically elected Local Government Councils, as this will lead to the development of the Local Councils.































INTRODUCTION


Local Government is government at the local level. In any political system, it is created to decongest the functions and burden of central government (decentralization), to bring about democratic climate of opinion; to provide valuable political education, to provide two-way communication, to ensure even and rapid development (provide basic socio-economic services), to serve as a hedge against over-concentration of power; to maintain law and order etc. Thus, it plays political and socio-economic roles. It is usually created by a law of the central government in a unitary system, and the law of the state in a federal system of government. It is also given adequate power and autonomy to discharge the functions assigned to it. Through the Local Government, the work of the government is decentralized on a territorial basis thereby making it possible for the inhabitants of local communities to take part in the management of their local affairs (Oyediran, 1998; Abba, 2008; Course Guide for National Universities in Nigeria).

According to the United Nations Division of Public Administration,

Local Government is a political division of a nation, which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs including the powers to impose taxes or exert labour for prescribed purposes. The governing body of such an entity is elected or otherwise locally selected. It is a government in which popular participation both in the decision making process is conducted by local bodies, which while recognizing the supremacy of other levels of government, is able and willing to accept responsibility for its decisions (Oyediran, 1998).

Because of widespread disappointment with the centralized state structure, and as part of the ongoing democratization process, the transfer of some power and resources from the centre to Local Government (decentralization) became necessary. Countries adopt different models, systems and structures to enable them perform all the functions assigned them. The systems and structures may change over time due to the discovery of new ones that can yield better results. Countries study the system of Local Government of other states just to know how they operate and to adopt that which they feel will help them. Nigeria for example, adopted many things from the British and American local government systems respectively.

Therefore, in comparing and contrasting the theory and practice of Local Government in France and Nigeria which is the main focus of the study, our primary concern will be to look at secondary sources, in order to establish local administrative units and legal prescriptions for allocation of power in France and Nigeria. The effort is to find out how they operate, the status of autonomy and democratic tendencies in both countries. France is an example of a country in a developed world (Classic) and Nigeria, one of the countries in the developing world, but both countries have been victims of continuing political instability (Heady, 2001).

METHODOLOGY

This study is a comparative and as such, a parallel descriptive analysis of both institutions was made. It also adopts documentary method to ascertain the local administrative units and legal prescriptions for allocation of power and to compare their democratic tendencies.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Having looked at the role of Local Government (political and socio-economic) whether in unitary or federal state, theories or schools of thought are required to help better understand ing of local governments and the purpose for their establishment. One of such is the Democratic Participatory School of Thought, which advocates that local government exists essentially for bringing about democracy to afford opportunities for political participation to the citizens, as well as educate and socialize them politically (Adamolekun, Olowu, and Laleye, 1988). This means that local government is to foster representative and participatory democracy at the lower level.

John Stuart Mills’ work on Utilitarianism, liberty and representative government has greatly influenced this school of thought. Mills, apart from describing representative government as good government asserts that Local Government is the prime element of democracy and demonstrates the intrinsic values of democracy irrespective of the services it provides.

According to studies carried out by Keith Lucas, a large number of British members of parliament who had served on local government demonstrated the importance of local government as a recruiting ground for the British parliament. An analysis of the 1964 general election by David Butler revealed that 53% of the labour members of parliament and 45% of the defeated labour parliament candidates had been one time Local Government Councillors (Course Guide for National Open Universities in Nigeria).

Mackenzie (1954) supported this when he produced a data proving that more than half of the deputies and about the same proportion of senators in Italy had had political education in the local government. The crux of this theory is that Local Government must continue to uphold democracy through the provision of political education, participation, and political socialization for its citizens.

Another school of thought that believes that the function of Local Government is not to bring about political participation or political education is the Efficiency Service School of Thought. According to this school, the main function of Local Government is to provide services to the local people. Local government is to be more efficient than the State in providing these services since it is closer to the people (Livingstone, 2008).

The success of any Local Government lies in its ability to provide these services. Thus, Local Governments play a vital role in the development of the state especially in the developing ones. Local governance is critical for poverty reduction. Local Governments have the advantage of knowing and understanding the needs and resources of their own territories and so can provide better local public goods to meet the demands of the population (Livingstone, 2008; Ola, 1984).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE

Background

France is one of the fifteen countries that make up the European Union with a population of about 64.7 million people, a land mass over 500,000km square and Gross Domestic Income of 2.865 trillion (2009). It is a Republic of France with a unitary and centralized system of government. Local government in France was created mainly during the Napoleonic times. This system of government derived from the February 1800 law, established departments, arrodissments, and communes. It consists of three tiers of local administration: the Commune, Department and Region through which decisions made at the national level are implemented. These tiers exercise some degree of autonomy. In addition, there are France’s overseas territories and regional bodies such as Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Corsina, Mayotte and Saint- Pierre-et-Miquelon with special status. (Swift and Kervella, 2003: US Department of State, 2009).


STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE

France operates the multi-tier type of Local Government. As mentioned earlier, Local Government in France is divided into Regions, Departments, and Communes, all under the Central Government.


THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

At the Centre, is the President of the Republic, who is the Chief Executive branch of government. Presently, the President is Francois Hollande (the 24th President 2012 - 2017). He is the sixth President under the fifth republic and is assisted by Prime Minister Manuel Carlos Valls (since 2014) whom he appoints to look into the day-to-day administration of the country and the permanent bureaucracies of the many ministries. Led by the Prime Minister, who is the head of government, the cabinet is composed of a varying number of ministers, minister-delegation and secretaries of state. The National government is prohibited by law from intruding into the normal operations of the regions, departments and communes (US Department of States, 2009).


THE REGIONS

Regions in France were created in 1955. There are 26 regions in France, 22 are situated in the Metropolitan France and the remaining 4 overseas with a special status, departments and regions. The region became a local authority in 1982. Each region has an administrative unit and a council of its own. The members of the council are elected for six years. They work together with the Consultative Assembly known as Economic and Social Committee in the preparation and implementation of national plan, the establishment of regional development plan and the crucial guidelines for the regional budget. They are also involved in the provision of vocational training and the building, equipment and running cost of schools. This committee is composed of representatives of businesses, trade unions, and other employees’ organizations, regional voluntary organization etc

Furthermore, a regional council chairman is elected by the councillors to act as the executive authority in the region.


THE DEPARTMENT

The next tier of Local Government in France is the Department established in 1789 to replace the old province whose continued existence was seen as a danger to national unity. France has 100 departments with 96 in the metropolitan France and four overseas (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion and French Guiana). The departments for administrative purposes are divided into Arrodisements, Cantons and Communes. The departments were created out of the need for France to curtail the power of the local notables, while hastening government reforms (Columbia Encyclopedia, 2010). This meant that the local populace has no influence whatsoever in the administration of their communes. They are merely there to obey the orders from the centre. The department is to cater for the following: health and social services; rural capital work; departmental roads and the capital expenditure and running cost of colleges.

Prefects before the 1982 reforms that came into operation because of a “Socialist Government” which regarded “decentralization as a cornerstone of Local Government administration” were appointed by the central government to represent it (prime minister and all the members of government) and to control the Mayors. They may not necessarily come from any of the communes that make up the departments. In most cases, they were chosen from among sub- prefects in charge of the arrodissements. They were allowed only to stay in the department for two or three years after which they were removed so that they do not get involved in local troubles and in order for them to concentrate on government policies.

The prefects exercised executive power in the department in the sense that they had the power to reverse the decisions of the mayor and municipal council. They also had the power to alter budgets, appoint and sometimes suspend elected council members (Course Guide for National Open University in Nigeria)

Today, the executive authority of the department rests on the Chairman of the general assembles whom the general councillors elect for a six years term. The general assemble is made up of councillors that are elected for a six years term in a two- ballot uninominal majority poll and functions as the decision- making body of the department. The chairman is saddled with the task of preparing the council’s debates and implementing its decisions, representing the department at the legal level and exercising certain police powers in the areas of conservation and departmental highway (Swift and Kervella, 2003).

The 1982 reform modified the powers of the prefects by elevating the powers of the council and the mayor. The department and communes became more “autonomous” and fully “accountable”. Some power devolved or decentralized to the local authority as enumerated in Course Guide, National Open University of Nigeria the include:


THE COMMUNES (MUNICIPALITIES)

These are the oldest and smallest local administrative units in France. They were created as far back as 1789 during the French Revolution to replace the existing pre-revolutionary historical parishes and chartered cities. Communes are the lowest tier of local government in France. The entire country has about 37,000 communes that have served as the basic administrative unit over three centuries and more. This number is higher than the rest of the European Union put together. Communes apply to all municipalities not minding their size (80% of municipalities have fewer than 1,000 inhabitants) (Swift and Kervella, 2003).

These small communes with the encouragement of the central government merged to form urban communities or association of several communes (syndicates). This was further facilitated with the law of January 6 1992. This law set out new structures for cooperation to rationalize municipal administration of towns and cities based on their demographic, economic, or cultural importance. All the communes are governed by the same legislative framework not minding their size, with the exception of those overseas (Swift and Kervella: 2003; Bosch and Espasa, not dated).

Each commune consists of a democratically elected decision-making body called the municipal council expected to serve for a period of six years and an executive (the Mayor) elected by the municipal council. Before 1882, under Napoleonic order the central government appointed the Mayors of communes.

The number of municipal councils depends on the size of the population of the commune. They are saddled with the responsibility to decide how the municipal administration will operate, make out guidelines for municipal policy, adopt the budget, manage municipal assets such as primary school buildings and equipment, and supervise the actions of the Mayor. They meet at least four times in a year.

On the other hand, the Mayor plays dual functions in the commune. He is the municipality’s legal representative as well as the state representative in the commune. The Mayors as the executive officers of the communes are charged with some responsibilities such as proposing and implementing the budget, issuing building permits and managing the communes’ natural environment. They are also in charge of security and public health. At the state level, they register births, marriages and deaths. They also publicize laws and regulations and draw up electoral register. Mayors are part of the police, judiciary and so they exercise special power in connection with the repression of crime under the authority of the public prosecutor. The mayor could also be a member of the Departmental Council, the Regional Assembly as well as a member of the parliament in Paris or the central legislature (Swift and Kervella: 2003).

In addition to the local council arrangement existing in each administrative level regional, departments, and communes, there are local field services provided by each ministry having its representatives in the provinces. For example, a general in each department represents the ministry of defence while a Rector represents the ministry of education.


SOURCES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE

The main sources of revenue for Local Governments in France are taxes and grants. Four taxes account for 38% of their local revenue. They are:

  1. Residence Tax (tax levied on persons occupying furnished apartments)

  2. Property Tax on building (fixed based on the cadastral value of the building)

  3. Property on Land Tax (tax paid on lands without buildings) and

  4. Local Business Tax (tax paid on production factors).

Other taxes paid include house waste tax; road traffic tax; electricity tax; driving license tax; additional tax on donations; advertising and registration right tax; public transport tax and vehicle registration tax (Bosch and Espasa, not dated).

In addition to the revenue generated from these taxes, the Local Government receives grants from the State Government. These grants are classified into two-current grants and capital grants. The current grants include:

Capital grants on the other hand include VAT compensation funds and school equipment fund.


LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN PARIS

Paris (Isle-de-France) being the seat of National power in France has a local governing structure that was different from the normal structure of Local Government in France with the villages (communes), department and regions. This is the administrative structure of the Isle-de-France. Between 1871 and 1977, Local Government in Paris was controlled by the national government through locally elected officials. This was because the Parisians had a legacy of insurrection against the French state (1830, 1848, and the Commune of 1871) that needed to be kept “under supervision.” As a result of this, the city was given an assembly without any real powers. A prefect was appointed for the administration and police respectively. In each arrondissement, a Mayor was appointed. With the permit of the Prime Minister Jacques Chirac and majority in Parliament in 1975, Paris was finally able to elect its own mayor.

Presently, the city is divided into 20 arrondissements with locally elected mayors who all answer to the Mayor of Paris. In addition, there are eight departments, three inner suburban departments, four outer departments, and Paris. These are governed by an elected assembly (Answer.com-Local Government, 2010). However, the prefecture of police is still directed by the national rather than the department government.


REFORMS

In 1972, a code of regional reform that had been rejected by President de Gaulle in 1969 was approved by the parliament. This reform made it possible for the Departments to be grouped into 22 regions each with a regional council composed of local deputies, senators, and delegates. Prefects were appointed and regional economic and social committee made up of labour and management representatives were also established (Encyclopedia of the Nations).

On March 2, 1982, another law, which superseded the 1972 law, was put in place. It was known as The Decentralization Law. It provided the transfer of administrative and financial authority from the prefects to the General Council. The General Council was empowered to elect its Chairman conferred with executive authority of the Department. The decentralization law replaced the regional prefects with regional councils elected by universal direct suffrage. An economic and social committee was appointed in each region to serve as an adversary body. The national government’s representative in each region, named by the cabinet, exercised administrative power. With this on ground, Corsina was the first to elect its regional assembly in August 1982 while the first direct assemble election in all the 22 regions held in March 1986 (Encyclopedia of the Nations, 2010).

The 1982 reform made several changes in the area of financing and the responsibilities of the three tiers of local government. The reform increased the responsibilities of the communal, departmental and regional accountants, giving them the status of the Chief Accountant directly responsibly to the treasury. A new court was assigned to serve as regional audit chamber responsible for the posterior auditing of local authority account (Swift and Kervella, 2003).

Further more, the decentralization law brought greater democracy to the country’s administration and management. Tasks are carried out at the most appropriate level in all sectors of public life, meaning that local authorities act primarily in their own capacity, rather than the national interest (Swift and Kervella, 2003).

The concept of decentralization of power from the state to the Local Government is of two types- deconcentration and devaluation. France Local Government presents a good example of the two types. Deconcentration was in place before 1982 where the Mayors and Prefects exercised control over the Departments as the representative of the Central Government. The Department simply followed the directives of the Mayors and Prefects (Course Guide, National Open University Nigeria).

Devolution, which is the legal instrument conferring residual power upon formally constituted Local authorities, did not start until 1982. Although the Prefects still remains the effective representative at the local level and sometimes encroach on local democracy and local autonomy, Local Government in France exercise greater power over it affairs. This is because they exhibit the following characteristics as outlined by 704 Local Government Administration course guide for national open universities in Nigeria.

Local authorities in France are free to spend money in their territories. This is the result of the decentralization process undertaken over 25 years ago, and the modification of the France constitution in 2003 (La documentation Francaise, 2004).

Electronic Government (E Government) is one of the administrative strategies introduced, to make government more efficient, improve government services, facilitate citizens’ access to information, and promote government transparency and accountability. Electronic government ensures that the citizens and government officials are in contact through the media of information, and communication technology (Vossey, 2009).

The New public Management introduced in Europe has helped modernize local government in some counties including France. The Municipals award contracts to big companies operating at the national and international levels in the areas of water supply, sewage waste disposal, road cleaning, and public transportation. In the year 2000, private suppliers provided water for 80% of the population (Kuhlmann and Fedele, not dated)

In order to cope with the challenges of the reduced size of the municipalities, municipals group together in order to manage and provide the services that they have in common. This has led to the creation of various Public Institutions for Intermunicipal Cooperation (EPCI) such as:

Quite a number of the EPCI are empowered to raise their own tax while others are afforded additional tax levying powers (Bosch and Espara, not dated).


LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA

Nigeria is one of the countries in West Africa, with a population of over 120 million and land mass of about 925,000 square kilometres. It is a Federal State with presidential system of government. Local government in Nigeria evolved within the framework of the country’s political and constitutional history (Abia, 2003)

Before the emergence of modern Local Government in 1952, the system of Native Administration was in place in the various parts of the country. The Council of Elders, Native Court, and the Native Treasury were the institutions used to run this system. The system was undemocratic, as native administration was not composed of elected membership and was under the control of traditional rulers who were autocratic (Abba, 2008).

The Local Government ordinance of 1950 democratized Native Administration in the sense that about eight percent of the Councillors were elected in the Eastern Region. The law took effect in the West in 1952. The structure of Local Government differed in the both regions. The Eastern and Western regions had a three tier local government system- the county, district and local council in the East fashioned after the British system of Local Government (the County Council was abolished in 1958), and Divisional, District and Local in the West. Both the regions discarded the concept of native authority. In the North, the Native Authority Law of 1954 merely consolidated the native authority and the native and emirate councils were in place (Abba, 2008; Lasisi, 1997).

Before the military take over in 1966, the various Local Government systems were in trouble. This was because they were encountering problems such as finance difficulties, corruption, excessive politicking, political interference, and inefficiency especially in the East and West. The military abolished all Local Councils and appointed Sole Administrators. Between 1966 and 1976, local governments in Nigeria went through various reforms at both regional and state levels but the 1976 reform was the major one. That reform introduced the single-tier local government system throughout the country and established 301 local governments based on a given population range of 150,000 and 800,000 with equal status and powers. Local Government became the third tier of government and began to receive statutory allocations from the Federal Government. The reform also introduced full-time elected Chairmen of the Local Government and supervisory Councillors. The number of Local Governments increased to 589 in 1992 and today there are 774 local governments in Nigeria (Abba, 2008; Lasisi, 1997; Igbuzor, 2007).

THE STRUCTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA

The structure of local structure in Nigeria is divided into two:

  1. Political and

  2. Administrative council.

The political structure consists of all elected officials such as Local Government Councillor and Chairman, the Committee and Supervisory Councillors. It is principally composed of the Legislature, the Executive, Committee, and the Secretary to the local government. Under the parliamentary system of government, The Chairman, was appointed by the State Governor and accounts to the Governor. The secretary was the Chief Executive and was appointed from the heads of the department of administration. With the adoption of the presidential system of government in 1991, the post of Secretary to the Local Government became a political appointment. The Secretary was appointed by the Chairman and never enjoyed the power of the former secretary.

Local Government structure under the Presidential System of Government


Local Government Council

Executive Council

Office of the Chairman

Vice-chairman

Office of the Secretary

Department

Agriculture Works Personnel/Mgt Finance Medical Health Education

Source: Lasisi, (1997), A Practical Approach to Local Government Administration. Ibadan: Mac Litho Press.



The Local Government Council is the legislative organ of the Local Government. Apart from making byelaws, they also supervise the revenue collection and expenditure of the local government (Lasisi, 1997).

The Executive Council is made up of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and the Supervisors. The Council is responsible for the day-to-day running of the local government. It also decides on the implementation of policies and recommends byelaws and capital projects to the legislative council for approval.

The Chairman is elected through a universal suffrage in all the wards in the Local Government. He is the Chief Executive Officer and in charge of the day-to-day running of the council. He approves all executive decisions. The Chairman appoints supervisors and assigns duties to them. He is also the chief accounting officer of the local government; supervises the revenue generation and expenditure of the local government (Lasisi, 1997).

At the head of the Administrative Council is the Secretary of the Local Government who is answerable to the Chairman. Under the Secretary are departments that are headed by Heads of Departments. The number of departments in a Local Government depends on the Law, setting up the Local Government.

They are classified into; service and operational departments. The service departments deal with the personnel management and finance that support service delivery.

The operational departments on the other hand deliver the services on the field with the help of a structure called field or extension workers (technical, professional, and administrative in nature) who answer to the head of department (Course Guide, National Open University).

The political and administrative structures relate with each other. The political structure makes laws and policies and approves local government estimates and budgets. In every department, there is a political officer called Supervisory Councillor that controls the activities of the department. They ensure that the department, through the Head of the Department, implements the policies approved by the Executive Council. They also convey the needs and activities of the department outlined by the Head of Department to the council. The supervisors play intermediary roles and as such are seen as the eyes of the Chairman at the departmental level. Like wise, the Secretary is the Chief Adviser to the Chairman on Local Administration (Course Guide, National Open University).

The functions of Local Governments in Nigeria are in the fourth schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They are divided into two-concurrent and mandatory functions.

Mandatory functions are the functions, which they perform alone without the assistance from the State Government. Such functions include economic planning of the Local Government; collection of rates, radio and television licenses; naming of roads and streets; registration of births, deaths, and marriages; provision and maintenance of public conveniences, etc.

The concurrent functions are those that are jointly provided by the Local Government and other tiers of government such as development of agriculture and natural resources, provision and maintenance of health services and other functions, which may be conferred on a Local Council by the State House of Assembly.


SOURCES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT REVENUE

There are four main sources of Local Government finance in Nigeria- local taxes, user fees, intergovernmental grants, and loans. Local taxes include property rates, business taxes and poll tax. User charges are stallage fees in markets, fares in Local Government buses, and fees paid for using car parks. On intergovernmental grants, the Federal Government and State Government transfer 25% and 10% respectively to the Local Government. Local governments are empowered to borrow in order to finance capital projects (Anifowose and Enemuo, 1999).


LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS

Of all the reforms that were made in the Local Government, the 1976 reform was the most unique because it involved all the Local Government throughout the federation. Its objective was to make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local wishes and initiatives by devolving or delegating them to local representative bodies; to facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the grass roots of our society and to initiative and leadership potentials; to mobilise human material through the involvement of members of the public in their local development, and to provide a two-way channel of communication between local communities and government. The reform was intended to decentralize some significant functions of the state to the local level in order to harness local resources for rapid development (Guidelines for Local Government Reform: 1976).

As mentioned earlier, this reform made Local Government the third tier of government in Nigeria and made it possible for 75% of members of the council to be elected through the secret ballot while the remaining 25% were to be appointed by the state governor. Based on the recommendation of the reform, the Federal Government in 1977 allocated 5% of federally generated revenue to Local Governments. The 1979 constitution made room for democratically elected local councils. This provision was neglected during the Shehu Shagari’s regime (1979-1983). Sole administrators were appointed to take charge of local governments in Nigeria. This continued until 1984 when Babangida took over, and abolished the Ministry of Local Government and established the executive and legislative arms in Local Governments. He increased statutory allocation from 15% to 20% with effect from 1992. The allocation was to be given to the Local Government directly without passing through the State (Igbuzor, 2007).

The provision made for a democratically elected Local Government Council in section 7 of the 1999 constitution failed to indicate the tenure for Local Government Officers.


COMPARING AND CONTRASTING THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE AND NIGERIA

SIMILARITIES

These factors are peculiar to Local Governments in both countries:


DIFFERENCES

France operates the multi-tier Local Government where municipals group together in order to manage and provide the services that they have in common. The Local Government has three tiers- Region, Department, and Commune with specified functions. There are about 37,000 communes in France each with a Municipal Council and a mayor elected by the councillors. All the communes are governed by the same legislation except for those overseas. The 26 regions have administrative units and councils whose duty it is to elect a Chairman to act as the executive authority in the region. At the department level, the Chairman elected by the general councillors acts as the executive authority.

On the other hand, Nigeria operates the single-tier multi-purpose Local Government System. There has been structural instability in Nigeria. The country changed from the cabinet to the presidential model. The structure of local government in Nigeria is divided into two political and departmental structures.

The experience of France before the 1982 can be likened to the Nigerian experience before the 1976 reform. Both countries have experienced instability and military rule. The Central Government in the case of France, and State Government in Nigeria controlled local Government fully. However, the two reforms gave autonomy to Local Government in both states. In the case of France, the decentralization reform eroded some of the powers of the prefect but enhanced the powers of the Council and the Mayor. The Mayors were no longer appointed but elected by the Councillors for tenure of six years.

In France, the participation level for Local Government elections is very high and Mayors are highly respected. In Nigeria, in spite of the provision made by the 1979 constitution for a democratically elected Local Government Council, the provision has been constantly eroded. From 1979 to 1984, no elections were held in the Local Councils. Sole Administrators were appointed to take charge of Local Governments. In May 2002, Local Government elections were postponed due to the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to produce and make the voters register available to the State Independent Electoral Commission. Governors appointed caretaker committees to serve for three months (Igbuzor, 2007).

Despite the fact that the 1999 constitution provided for a democratically elected Local Government Council, it created confusion by empowering both the National Assembly and the States House of Assembly to make laws with respect to the registration of voters and the procedure regulating elections to a Local Government Council (Igbuzor, 2007).

Both states lack financial autonomy. Apart from the taxes that they collect, they both receive grants from the central/federal government. In the case of France, every inhabitant is expected to pay a tax of 35francs. The local councils contract to private supplies in order to meet needs of populace. The national government is prohibited by law from intruding into the normal operations of the Department and Communes. In Nigeria, the state constantly encroaches into the decision and expenditure of local government. Since the remittance procedure practiced during the military era was truncated in 1999 where instead of local governments picking up their 25% federal allocation from the federal pay office in the respective states now had to collect from the state because of the state/local joint account, there has being little or no progress in the local governments. Many Governors tamper with the federal allocation to the Local Government as well as the 10% that it is expected to give the Local Government from the state’s account. Eventually the Chairmen and Councillors also mismanage the little that is released. (Dibie, 2003; Igbuzor, 2007).

Through the e-government introduced in the 2003 constitution of France, the contact between the citizens and government has greatly improved. This has to a large extent promoted government transparency and accountability. The 1982 reform reduced the power of the Prefects, although they still serve as a watchdog for council activities. On the other hand, there exist a wild gap between the citizenry and the Government in Nigeria. There is no proper formula for determining what citizens will pay as taxes. The little that is collected is not properly accounted for.

The functions of Local Government cannot be completely listed out. Contrary to what obtains in Nigeria where the fourth schedule of the 1999 Constitution outlines the functions, the functions of local units in France continue to grow because of population expansion, rapid industrialization, and urbanization with the corresponding growing demand for more social services.

Speaking on the level of decentralization, we observe that the French Local Government presents a good example of deconcentration and devolution. Deconcentration was very prominent before the 1982 reform. Then financial and administrative powers lay in the hands of the prefect who were appointed by the central government to carry it wish in the local government councils. Today, that power has been transferred to the general assemble which elects its own president. Local Governments in France now enjoy more autonomy and thus exercise greater power over its local affairs (devolution). In Nigeria based on our finding, the level of deconcentration is far higher than devolution. Their legal frameworks have always been inconsistent. The State controls virtually all the activities of the Local Government.





CONCLUSION

Based on the study of both countries, it is evident that Local Governments in France are far ahead of their counterpart in Nigeria. This is manifested in the degree of autonomy exercised by Local Governments in France. Although they do not enjoy financial autonomy because they really on grant and loans from the state like those in Nigeria, they have since 1982 exercised greater power over their affairs. The Prefects only act as watchdogs to ensure that the Councils perform their duties.

The Councils in France are democratically constituted and therefore accountable to the people. Elections take place as at when due and the leaders are highly respected by their people. The introduction of the e- government in France has made transparency and accountability more visible. Therefore, Nigeria has a lot to learn or gain from the operation of Local Government in France to enable it move forward.


RECOMMENDATIONS

The Federal Government of Nigeria must ensure that Local Governments get their statutory allocation directly and that adequate mechanisms are put in place to ensure transparency and accountability. This will reduce the level of control that the State has over Local Governments. It is also important that people elect their representatives and participate in all governance and developmental issues.






REFERENCES

Abba, U. E. (2008). Modern Public Administration. Onitsha: Abbot Books Ltd.

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26



3 A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON DATA SCIENCE AND INFORMATION
3 COMPARATIVE SURVEY OF ONTOLOGY EDITORS FOR THE SEMANTIC
4 THERMATEST MODEL TCFCM COMPARATIVE INSTRUMENT THERMAL CONDUCTIVITYTHE RATE


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