Introduction
1.1 Background Of The Study
Local government as at colonial era existed as the instrumentalities of traditional authorities. Through the indirect rule administrative pattern of British colonization the indirect rule implies government through local authority with overall supervision by the colonial powers.
The use of indigenous political institutions for purpose of local government was contingent of modifications of some aspects of traditional government repugent to European ideas. As a system to local government, it achieved a measure of success in the centralized and powerful system of Northern and western provinces of Nigeria. In the Eastern provinces, an artificial base known as the “Warrant Chiefs were created for its operation”.
Local government through the instrumentalities of traditional political institution was created purposely to reach out to the people at the remotest part of the country by the colonial master.
As the country made political progress under colonial rule, it was felt that the system of local government needed reorganization. It has been agued that those reforms were undertaken by the colonial administration to stem the rising tide of the nationalistic movement. It is evident that political activities and other forms of social change forced local government reforms to swing in the direction of elected representatives which was associated with young /literate and “progressive element” and away form the “traditional element” as equated with chiefs, sons holding offices for life. The policy of the colonial government was to replace the native Administration system which was epitomized by the indirect rule philosophy with a system based broadly on the English model of country councils.
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