Introduction
1.1 General Background to the Study
In 1954, Nigeria adopted the Federal System of Government, which essentially shared the responsibility for service delivery among the three levels of government in an intergovernmental public arrangement. Basic government services such as agriculture support and irrigation, rural roads, health service, sanitary activities and primary education among others, were placed in the hands of lower level government, which then enables the community to be participative members of the society. The ability or capacity of local government to deliver sustainable public services depend on the level to which authority, functions, and financial resources are transferred or given to them vis a vis the scope and weight of their responsibilities. This is referred to as decentralization of authority for public services. The process of decentralizing authority, involves the process of deconcentration and devolution of services.
“Decentralization” is the transfer of authority and responsibility for public services, from the central government to intermediate and local governments or quasi-independent government organizations. The process of decentralization involves, within an appropriate legal framework of political, administrative and fiscal decentralization. Besides, the three components (political, administrative and fiscal decentralization) vary from unitary system of government to federal system of government.
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