The Effect of BudgetIng and Budgetary Control in Local Government Administration of Nigeria

Abstract

The process of allocating resource to meet demand, as well as converting rhetoric to reality in the political system is termed budgeting. That process should link the past, the present and the future in standard and orderly way. Before the beginning of every financial year, Government at all level (federal, state, local government) announces their budget for the New Year. They state the objectives they anticipate in attaining through the period, and the plan of actions necessary. This study in tends to examine the effectiveness of budget and budgetary control in the local government system in Nigeria. This studied being a theoretical analysis, secondary data were used. As such, Available literatures on budgeting and budgetary control as they applicable to local governments in Nigeria were exhaustively used, relevant materials sourced from text books, Journal, newspapers and other official documents were taken into consideration to discover how local government can make use of a prepared budget to achieve effective and efficient results. It was observed that, local governments in Nigeria were confronting some challenges which includes; corruption and mismanagement, skilled manpower, state government interference and finance. This study recommends that, all the activities of the various departments of the local government should be planned and coordinated very well to ensure all departments are in harmony so that the effective budget will be realized.

Keywords: Budgeting, budgetary control, Local government, Finance.