scholarly journals Embezzlement and Reckless Spending: A Bottleneck for Local Governments’ Revitalization and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Shafi’u Abubakar Kurfi ◽  
Moh’d Lawal Danrimi
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
Monthly Basis ◽  
State And Local

Nigeria operates a federal system of government and power is allocated to federal, state and local governments. A collaborative effort was encouraged to promote socio-economic development. Unfortunately, lack of diversification of the economy and over concentration on crude oil, it now operates a monolithic economy. Federal government on monthly basis share the proceed to the three levels of government but ironically, nothing significant is shown for the huge allocations due to uncontrollable embezzlement and reckless spending by public servants more specifically local authorities due to the extreme closeness to citizenry. Documentary data were obtained from published books, reputable journals, government publications, magazines, newspaper publications, internet sources and personal observations in carrying out this study. The paper observed that embezzlement and reckless spending is on the increase in some Nigerian local governments and is manifested through the state joint local government account, embezzlements and reckless spending by local chairmen, fake projects, collusion in the transaction of government businesses, ghost workers, denial of statutory functions. The paper concludes that local government is at the verge of total collapse if adequate measures were not taken to savage the situation. The paper recommends that states joint accounts should be scrap for local governments have a sustainable development.

Inter-Governmental Relations in the Provision of Local E-Services

2011 ◽  
pp. 1120-1124
Author(s):  
R. Kelso
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Political Commentary ◽  
Commonwealth Government ◽  
State And Local

Australia is a nation of 20 million citizens occupying approximately the same land mass as the continental U.S. More than 80% of the population lives in the state capitals where the majority of state and federal government offices and employees are based. The heavily populated areas on the Eastern seaboard, including all of the six state capitals have advanced ICT capability and infrastructure and Australians readily adopt new technologies. However, there is recognition of a digital divide which corresponds with the “great dividing” mountain range separating the sparsely populated arid interior from the populated coastal regions (Trebeck, 2000). A common theme in political commentary is that Australians are “over-governed” with three levels of government, federal, state, and local. Many of the citizens living in isolated regions would say “over-governed” and “underserviced.” Most of the state and local governments, “… have experienced difficulties in managing the relative dis-economies of scale associated with their small and often scattered populations.” Rural and isolated regions are the first to suffer cutbacks in government services in periods of economic stringency. (O’Faircheallaigh, Wanna, & Weller, 1999, p. 98). Australia has, in addition to the Commonwealth government in Canberra, two territory governments, six state governments, and about 700 local governments. All three levels of government, federal, state, and local, have employed ICTs to address the “tyranny of distance” (Blainey, 1967), a term modified and used for nearly 40 years to describe the isolation and disadvantage experienced by residents in remote and regional Australia. While the three levels of Australian governments have been working co-operatively since federation in 1901 with the federal government progressively increasing its power over that time, their agencies and departments generally maintain high levels of separation; the Queensland Government Agent Program is the exception.

Pastoralism, Ethnicity, and Subnational Conflict Resolution in the Middle Belt

2018 ◽  
pp. 678-696
Author(s):  
Laura Thaut Vinson
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The State ◽  
The Past ◽  
Material Costs ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Subnational Conflict

This chapter explores the problem of rising pastoralist–farmer and ethnic (religious and tribal) violence in the pluralistic Middle Belt region of Nigeria over the past thirty to forty years. In particular, it highlights the underlying issues and conflicts associated with these different categories of communal intergroup violence, the human and material costs of such conflict, and the broader implications for the Nigerian state. The federal government, states, local governments. and communities have not been passive in addressing the considerable challenges associated with preventing and resolving such conflicts. It is clear, however, that they face significant hurdles in resolving the underlying grievances and drivers of conflict, and their efforts have not always furthered the cause of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Greater attention to patterns of inclusion and exclusion and to the allocation of rights and resources will be necessary, particularly at the state and local government levels, to create a more stable and peaceful Middle Belt.

Continuity of Operations planning: Meeting the standard of care

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Robin J. Clark, JD ◽  
Megan H. Timmins, JD
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
World Trade Center ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Continuity Of Operations ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local

Recent disasters have increased the public’s awareness of the lack of emergency preparedness of state and local governments. The attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 highlighted failures in government agency coordination, while the anthrax attacks that followed and the more recent natural disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 have deepened concerns that our government is unprepared for emergencies. Partially in response to the public’s concern, the federal government has encouraged Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning at the federal, state, and local government levels.Public attention, government engagement, and the promulgation of federal directives and guidance are leading to an increase in the standard of care for all public sector planning efforts, thus creating potential liabilities in the areas of COOP planning, testing, training, and maintenance. At this point, COOP planning is becoming the norm for state and local government agencies, and while the process of COOP planning may itself expose agencies to certain liabilities, there is also an increase in the potential liability for agencies that do not undertake COOP planning efforts. Further, it appears that the potential liability of agencies that do not engage in COOP planning far exceeds any liabilities incurred through the planning process.

Inter-Governmental Relations in the Provision of Local E-Services

2008 ◽  
pp. 2439-2451
Author(s):  
Robert Kelso
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
The State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Political Commentary ◽  
Commonwealth Government ◽  
State And Local

Australia is a nation of 20 million citizens occupying approximately the same land mass as the continental U.S. More than 80% of the population lives in the state capitals where the majority of state and federal government offices and employees are based. The heavily populated areas on the Eastern seaboard, including all of the six state capitals have advanced ICT capability and infrastructure and Australians readily adopt new technologies. However, there is recognition of a digital divide which corresponds with the “great dividing” mountain range separating the sparsely populated arid interior from the populated coastal regions (Trebeck, 2000). A common theme in political commentary is that Australians are “over-governed” with three levels of government, federal, state, and local. Many of the citizens living in isolated regions would say “over-governed” and “underserviced.” Most of the state and local governments, “… have experienced difficulties in managing the relative dis-economies of scale associated with their small and often scattered populations.” Rural and isolated regions are the first to suffer cutbacks in government services in periods of economic stringency. (O’Faircheallaigh, Wanna, & Weller, 1999, p. 98). Australia has, in addition to the Commonwealth government in Canberra, two territory governments, six state governments, and about 700 local governments. All three levels of government, federal, state, and local, have employed ICTs to address the “tyranny of distance” (Blainey, 1967), a term modified and used for nearly 40 years to describe the isolation and disadvantage experienced by residents in remote and regional Australia. While the three levels of Australian governments have been working co-operatively since federation in 1901 with the federal government progressively increasing its power over that time, their agencies and departments generally maintain high levels of separation; the Queensland Government Agent Program is the exception.

4. What state and local governments do

2019 ◽  
pp. 43-60
Author(s):  
Mark J. Rozell ◽  
Clyde Wilcox
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
National Government ◽  
Federal System ◽  
State Supreme Courts ◽  
Supreme Courts ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Constitution ◽  
State And Local

Even as most Americans fix their gaze on the actions of the federal government, states and localities are the cornerstones of the US federal system. “What state and local governments do” explains that states are free to design their own governments so long as their structure does not violate the US Constitution. All states have designed their governments to somewhat resemble the national government, with an elected governor, elected legislatures, and state supreme courts. However, each of these structures can operate in different ways, with different powers from state to state. The governments of the Native American reservations and those of the five permanently inhabited US territories are also discussed.

scholarly journals An Empirical Analysis of the Revival of Fiscal Activism in the 2000s

2011 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Fiscal Stimulus ◽  
Government Purchases ◽  
State And Local Government ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Stimulus Package

An empirical review of the three fiscal stimulus packages of the 2000s shows that they had little if any direct impact on consumption or government purchases. Households largely saved the transfers and tax rebates. The federal government only increased purchases by a small amount. State and local governments saved their stimulus grants and shifted spending away from purchases to transfers. Counterfactual simulations show that the stimulus-induced decrease in state and local government purchases was larger than the increase in federal purchases. Simulations also show that a larger stimulus package with the same design as the 2009 stimulus would not have increased government purchases or consumption by a larger amount. These results raise doubts about the efficacy of such packages adding weight to similar assessments reached more than thirty years ago. (JEL E21, E23, E32, E62, H50)

V. Organizing Government Staff Services for Full Employment

1945 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1157-1169
Author(s):  
John J. Corson
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
American People ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Integrated Network ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
State And Local

Since the time of Adam Smith, we have more or less passively accepted the type of economy which tossed us from boom to depression and back again. The adoption by Congress of current proposals for “full employment” legislation would constitute a substantial divergence from this passive course. The representatives of the American people would declare, essentially, that they propose to do whatever is necessary to make the national economy provide employment for all men and women who wish to work. Acceptance of this policy implies simultaneous acceptance of the responsibility for devising plans for influencing the economy and creating governmental machinery for carrying them out. Hence, our purpose here is twofold: first, to suggest the tasks to be performed by the federal government in maintaining full employment; and second, to raise the foreseeable questions about the organizational arrangements within the federal government that may be required to accomplish this end. At the present stage in the evolution of the rôle of government in the maintenance of full employment, much that will be said must necessarily be speculative.But political scientists have as much right—and obligation—to speculate as do economists. The economists have speculated effectively as to the pleasant state of affairs that will obtain when there are jobs for all who want to work. They have speculated fruitfully as to ways of achieving full employment. It is high time, now, that the political scientists contribute the results of their own speculation. What, for example, are to be the responsibilities of government in the “full-employment age”? How will government discharge these responsibilities? How will the federal government formulate an annual employment and production budget and the complex integrated network of national policies essential to the achievement of full employment? The political scientists may also be expected to consider how the collaboration between the federal, state, and local governments and each sector of private enterprise essential to this objective will be obtained. They, too, are obligated to evolve a prescription for the planned, harmonious administration of these integrated policies by a considerable number of agencies of the federal government. When they essay such speculation, they will conclude that the “Full Employment Act” focuses attention on the need for effective governmental staff services as no previous legislation has done.

scholarly journals Local Governments and Synchronous Issues Since Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
Kunle Awotokun
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Federal System ◽  
State Governments ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Holistic Review ◽  
Fourth Republic

The paper examines the contentious issues bewildering local government as a level of governance in Nigeria’s federal system of government against the backdrop of classical theory and practice of federalism. The article relies heavily on secondary data to run its analysis. Such data includes textbooks, journals, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, the Nigerian 1979 and 1999 constitutions, etc. The findings are that there are lots of contradictions (inconsistencies) in the running of the Nigerian federal system of government. The federal government is fond of always arm-twisting state governments especially in the area of creating new local governments which has, no doubt, led to frustration, reactions and counter-reactions between the two tiers of government. The work concludes on the note that there is the need to have a holistic review of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, with the view to returning the country to a true federal system akin to the Nigerian constitutions of 1960 and 1963 with modifications to reflect contemporary issues. This is the path of wisdom to stem the tide of separatist agitations in Nigeria and perhaps in plural African countries. Int. J. Soc. Sc. Manage. 8(2): 341-347.

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