The Role Of Local Government In Rural Development

The major concern of this research work is to assess the role of Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State in rural development of its constituent communities. In achieving this, the research work relies on descriptive approach and structured questionnaire and interview for data collection. A simple size of one hundred and fifty (150) respondents was used for the study. Our findings revealed that the council has not performed well in developing the rural areas over the years. Various recommendations were made based on the findings among such are, increase in revenue allocation by both Federal and State governments, serious commitment be made by such staff toward internally generated revenue and the use of direct labour (council engineers) in carrying out projects in place of contractors. Improvement of infrastructure by the councils is also recommended.

The expediency for the creation of local government anywhere in the world stems from the need to facilitate development at the grassroots. The importance of local government is a function of its ability to generate sense of belongingness, safety and satisfaction among its populace. All forms of government, regimes or political systems have so far ensured the attainment of this goal. Such strategy for ensuring national administrative development and political efficacy is found in the concept and practice of local government. Whatever is the mode of government, local government has been essentially regarded as the path to, and guarantor of, national integration, administration and development.

In Nigeria’s socio-political context, with multiplicity of culture, diversity of languages and differentiated needs and means, the importance of such an organization in fostering the needed national consciousness, unity and relative uniformity as well as preservation of peculiar diversities cannot be over-emphasized. Central to the creation of local government, however, is its ability to facilitate an avenue through which government and the people intermix, relate and more quickly than any other means resolve or dissolve issues that may have heated the system. Local government has been perceived as a panacea for the diverse problems of the diverse people with diverse culture.