Councillors as Inevitable Democratic Tools in Community Development and Nation Building in Nigeria
Abstract
Local government has come of age and some maturity in the leadership and conduct of government business are expected. It is worthy of note that autonomy is not just devolving powers to local government but also the ability to improve internal revenue generating capacity. It cannot be over-emphasized that allocation of authority to varying sub-units of the polity is the soul of centralization. Therefore authority is about powers, and power is about control of resources, the availability of which determines the quality of lives of the people. Local government should therefore pay attention to the leadership qualities ability to deliver services and to mobilize human, material and financial resources and the way authority is exercised in the name of autonomy. There is no nation in the world today without a system of the local government except that the systems differ. It exists as de-concentrated units in some countries whilst they are described as devolution in others. Local government inevitably has a complex set of roles to play.
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