International records / OpenAlex research

State–Local Fiscal Relations and the Erosion of Local Government Autonomy in Nigeria: Evidence from Bayelsa State, 2020–2025

This study examined how state–local fiscal relations affected local government autonomy in Nigeria, using Bayelsa State as a case study between 2020 and 2025. The study was motivated by the persistent contradiction between the constitutional recognition of local government councils and the institutional arrangements through which their finances were historically mediated by state governments. It specifically examined the extent to which state–local fiscal relations constrained the financial autonomy of local government councils and assessed how state involvement in local government financial a…