INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND THE PRACTICE OF FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA

posted on September 14, 2018

INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS AND THE PRACTICE OF FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

NIGERIAN FEDERALISM and Intergovernmental relation is dated back to the colonial era. However, a trace of the Nigerian federation shows that the relationship between the central and state, state and state, federal state and local government and local government and local government have been that of competition tensions and conflicts occasioned by the diversify historically, linguistically, culturally, religious, and otherwise in the management of their jurisdictional power, fiscal policies, administrative mechanism and finally their legislative Intergovernmental affairs. But this competition, tensions and conflicts can be mixed through federal-state-local, state-local and local-local and state-state, federal-local-bargaining interactions and cooperation adopted by the various tiers of government in Nigeria as the case in the United State.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
Federation demands boththe horizontal and vertical interaction of the various levels of government, namely the federal, state and local levels. Thus in a federal arrangements like Nigeria, Intergovernmental relations (IGR) appears to focus attention on major discernible issues, notably the increasing recognition of the importance of smooth and effective management of complex political system and equally the need to manage the inside array of transactions among consistent bodies (Okafor 2005). A federal political arrangement specifies a decision of governmental powers between the national government and constituent units and such a decision is usually specified in the constitution.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
There is usually a mistaken assumption that Intergovernmental relation (IGR) can be discussed on meaningfully in the content of a federal arrangement. This is the view of graves who says that (IGR) is surrounding with federalism but the actual fact “IGR” encompassed more than is chiefly on nation state relationship with occasional attention to Intergovernmental relations can be delineated in a unitary state. These are (National –local relations, inter-local relations and external relations).
The term Intergovernmental relations is common used to refer to relations between central, regional and local government as well as movement between any one phere (level) that facilitates the attainment of common goals, through cooperation Opeskin 2009, used in t he sense mechanism for Intergovernmental relation maybe seen as employing consensual tools for the mutual benefit of the constituents units of the state for vetrder waldt and Dutort 2009 Intergovernmental relation refers to the mutual relation and interaction between government institutions of horizontal and vertical levels. This is in line with thormhill 2010 definitions that Intergovernmental relations consists of actions and transactions politicians and officials in national, sub-national units of government and organs of the state. the foreigne are in line with the relationship between government and subordinate units hence defined Intergovernmental as the interaction that takes place in the or among the levels of government within a state.