Local Government Financial Autonomy and Rural Development in Enugu State

Abstract

The growing rate of poverty coupled with absence of basic infrastructural facilities in rural communities in Enugu State has sufficiently justified the need to investigate the factor(s) responsible for the inability of local governments to address these challenges and by extension ensure rural development in their areas. It is on this premise that this article offers to investigate the correlation between local government financial autonomy and rural development in Enugu State. The article adopts micro-analysis method using secondary data. The secondary data used in this study comprises of journal articles, books, official documents, policy documents and conference speeches. The finding of this study demonstrates that there is local government financial autonomy deficit in Enugu State resulting from manipulation of State Joint Local Government Account among others by the state government and this has greatly undermined efforts made by local governments towards development of rural communities. It is also indicated in the study that the measure adopted by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit titled “Guidelines to Reduce Vulnerabilities Created by Cash Withdrawals from Local Government Funds throughout Nigeria” to solve these problems failed. The implication of the foregoing findings is that rural development in Enugu State will continue to be impracticable until these fundamental issues are well addressed. Therefore, this article recommends among others that State Joint Local Government Account should be urgently abolished to enable local governments receive their statutory allocation among other funds directly.