Appointment of Non-Elected Political Functionaries and Its Implication on Local Government Administration in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria is a federation with the component units saddled with different responsibilities. The local council is the level of government vested with powers to facilitate grassroots development and collaborate with higher levels to foster economic development. Regrettably, the local governments are more like shadows of themselves. One notable challenge the third tier of government had consistently encountered is political interference, especially the unconstitutional appointment of caretaker and transitional committees to manage the affairs of the local government. Thus, this paper examined the factors responsible for the appointment of non-elected political functionaries and its implications to the councils. Survey research design was used for the study, six of the twenty local governments in Ogun State were selected from the three senatorial districts. Sixty three unstructured interviews were conducted and 1,800 copies of a self-constructed questionnaire were administered. Findings revealed that four major factors necessitated the appointment of non-elected political functionaries and these appointments were more of compensation for political patronage than anything else. The consequences of such appointment is that these appointees serve the interest of their political god fathers rather than the wishes and aspiration of the masses they supposed to serve. The paper recommended that the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria should be amended to accommodate the tenure of political officers at the local government level. A period of four years is therefore recommended for the elected functionaries.