Local Government Essay

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ABSTRACT Globally, local government administration is given a pride of place in both developed and developing countries irrespective of their political system. As a subnational authority, a local government is made accountable directly to the central, state or regional governments. Local government has therefore established itself as an important aspect of modern political system. An overview of the historical development of countries often reveals how local government evolved and developed over the years. In this wise, Nigeria and France are no exception. This paper examines the position of local government vis-à-vis rural development in France and Nigeria. The main objective of this paper is to examine ways by which local governments serve …show more content…

The definitions of local government are as varied as scholars. As observed by Awa (2006:72), Local Government can be seen as "a political authority set up by a nation or state as a subordinate authority for the purpose of dispersing or decentralizing political power. The act of decentralizing power may take the form of deconcentration or devolution". The implication of this definition is that local government prevents the concentration of political power in a single level of government. The International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) , at its meeting in Brazil in 1985, perceived local government as "that level of government with constitutionally defined rights and duties to regulate and manage public affairs which are also constitutionally defined for the exclusive interest of freely elected on a periodical basis by equal, universal suffrage while the chief executive shall be so elected or appointed with the full participation of …show more content…

This implies that there would be a president who would function as an executive President while another official of government, (the Prime Minister) would function as head of government. This is what Heady (2001:193), described as a mixed Presidential/Parliamentary System. The President is to initiate policies while the Prime Minister is to implement them. As noted by Eneanya (2010:148-149), the French president is far from being a figure head, as he has the power to choose a Prime Minister and appoint Ministers and can even dismiss the Prime

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