Inter-Council Cooperation and Regional Development in Nigeria: A Study of Local Government Areas in the North Central Zone

This study examines the potential and practice of inter-council cooperation as a mechanism for promoting regional development among local government areas in Nigeria's North Central geopolitical zone. Nigeria's current local government structure assigns development responsibilities independently to each council, yet many development challenges including road connectivity, water resource management, market development, and security extend beyond individual council boundaries and require collaborative governance approaches. Using a professional applied research design, data is gathered from 80 respondents including local government chairmen, state ministry officials, academic development planners, and civil society stakeholders from Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Benue, Nassarawa, and Plateau States. The Regional Governance Theory and the Collaborative Public Management Framework provide the conceptual basis. Secondary data includes relevant academic literature on inter-local government cooperation in Africa, North Central Development Commission reports, and state ministry of local government publications. Descriptive statistics and comparative case analysis are employed. Findings are expected to demonstrate that inter-council cooperation is minimal, largely informal, and constrained by political rivalries, state government interference, and the absence of enabling legislation. The study proposes an Inter-Local Government Cooperation Framework for the North Central Zone, including model cooperation agreements, joint project governance structures, and a regional development coordination secretariat as practical tools for regional governance improvement. Keywords: Inter-council cooperation, regional development, North Central Nigeria, local governance, collaborative management.