ABSTRACT
This study examines the role of institutional mechanisms in local government accountability by undertaking a comparative assessment of the Nigerian institutional provisions against the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The specific objectives of the study are to examine the institutional mechanisms for local government accountability in Nigeria, evaluate the Nigerian mechanisms, using the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and subsequently determine how the effective deployment of institutional mechanisms may enhance the prospects of local government accountability. The study adopts as methodology a comparative analytical framework, under which it uses the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government to evaluate the Nigerian institutional mechanisms. Findings of the study led to a conclusion that for emerging political systems, which Nigeria typifies, institutionalized mechanisms of (political) accountability in the local government system, are truly less effective than the non-institutionalized or informal mechanisms. For the effective deployment of institutional mechanisms to enhance the prospects of local government accountability, the study concludes that a judiciary component of the local structures of governance is an unconditional necessity, as in the absence of such conditions; the incidence at the local level, totally ceases to be describable as government.
References
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