Decentralisation and Local Government Effectiveness in Sokoto State

This study evaluates the effectiveness of local government administration in Sokoto State in the context of Nigeria's decentralisation policy, assessing whether the devolution of administrative and fiscal powers to the local government level has improved service delivery outcomes. Local government is constitutionally recognised as the third tier of government in Nigeria and is intended to bring governance closer to the people, yet local councils across the country consistently underperform relative to expectations. Using a qualitative research design, the study conducts focus group discussions with community members and interviews with local government officials in three emirate council areas of Sokoto State in the North West geopolitical zone. The fiscal federalism theory and new public management framework are applied to evaluate the structural conditions that enable or constrain local government performance. Findings reveal that Sokoto State's local government councils are hamstrung by excessive dependence on federal allocations, political appointments that bypass merit criteria, and interference by state government in local council operations. Service delivery in primary health, rural roads, and water supply remains severely inadequate despite the constitutional mandate assigned to local governments. The study situates these findings within the broader debate on state-local government relations in Nigeria and identifies the erosion of local government autonomy as a central governance problem. Recommendations include strict enforcement of the constitutional provisions on local government autonomy, introduction of performance-based funding for councils, and expansion of community participation in local budget processes. Keywords: decentralisation, local government, Sokoto State, fiscal federalism, service delivery