New Local Governments, Old Illusions

The creation of new local governments in Nigeria has long been portrayed as a strategy for accelerating development, bringing governance closer to the people, and promoting equitable growth.

Historically, however, it has been more a political tool than a developmental one. From 301 councils in 1976, the number of Local Government Areas (LGAs) ballooned to 774, largely through the efforts of military regimes. Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha, in particular, expanded the local government structure—Babangida created 282 LGAs between 1989 and 1991, while Abacha added another 185 in 1996. Under military rule, such exercises required no democratic consultation; decrees were sufficient.

Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, however, the process has become far more complex. The 1999 Constitution makes it clear that creating new LGAs requires both state and federal involvement. Section 8 (3) empowers state assemblies to initiate the process, but Sections 8 (5) and (6) stipulate that the National Assembly must approve any alteration to the national list of LGAs. Section 162 further requires presidential consent before new councils can receive statutory allocations. In essence, while a state governor may propose new councils, only the federal government can legitimise them.

Despite this clear constitutional framework, some governors continue to act as though they can unilaterally create new LGAs. The recent announcement by the Bauchi State Government of 29 additional local councils—raising the number to 56—is a case in point. Supporters may hail this as a step toward grassroots development and political inclusion. In reality, it is a familiar illusion.
Nigeria’s challenge is not the scarcity of administrative units but the scarcity of effective governance.

At a time of fiscal distress, declining revenues, and collapsing public services, the multiplication of bureaucracies is a dangerous indulgence. More offices do not mean more development; they simply mean more costs.

For decades, our politicians have mistaken expansion for progress—new states, new councils, new agencies—all announced with fanfare but delivering little. These proliferations have deepened inefficiency, drained public finances, and weakened accountability. Today, many LGAs cannot pay salaries without federal allocations. Some lack functional secretariats, health centres, sanitation services, or even internally generated revenue. They survive as payroll centres rather than engines of local development.

The Bauchi initiative, and similar moves being considered elsewhere, epitomise political populism. The claim that new LGAs will “bring government closer to the people” is hollow. Governance is not about geographical proximity but institutional capacity. An LGA that exists only on paper but cannot fund its operations merely extends the geography of poverty. Bauchi’s internally generated revenue was about ₦32.4 billion in 2024, with recurrent expenditure consuming nearly 80 percent of its budget. In such circumstances, 29 new councils are dead on arrival.

There is also an element of constitutional deceit in these exercises. The Constitution recognises only 774 LGAs. Any alteration requires an amendment endorsed by the National Assembly. To circumvent this, states create so-called “development areas” or “provisional LGAs” as patronage tools, fully aware that these units will depend indefinitely on state subventions. What is paraded as decentralisattion is, in truth, political control—a tightening of the governor’s grip on local funds.

What Nigeria needs is not numerical expansion but functional autonomy. The Local Government Autonomy Bill passed by the National Assembly remains largely unenforced. Governors still control joint state–local accounts, starving councils of the funds needed for real service delivery. This is the cancer undermining grassroots governance. Until Nigeria ensures fiscal and administrative independence for existing LGAs, creating new ones will only multiply dysfunction.

The nation is already grappling with falling revenues, rising debt, and inflation. Every new LGA means additional chairmen, councillors, secretaries, vehicles, and elections—all financed from the same overstretched national purse. If state governments are serious about improving governance, they should first publish performance scorecards of their existing councils—measuring progress in education, healthcare, sanitation, and security—before demanding more.

This newspaper believes Nigeria must impose a moratorium on the creation of new local governments until a national framework defines clear viability criteria—population size, revenue capacity, infrastructure base, and governance performance. Democracy is not strengthened by duplication of offices but by the efficiency of institutions that deliver real services.

The rhetoric of “bringing government closer to the people” must give way to the discipline of bringing good governance to the people. More councils will not cure Nigeria’s leadership crisis; they will only multiply the cost of failure.