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ABSTRACT
The issue of local government autonomy has come to occupy the front burner in extant literature on politics and development in Nigeria. This research study critically assesses arguments for and against autonomy for local governments in the country. On the one hand, proponents of autonomy for local governments argue that increased fiscal and administrative autonomy will unfetter local governments from constraints imposed by state and federal authorities and thereby enhance infrastructural development. On the other hand, antagonists of increased autonomy often argue that corruption, mismanagement and unaccountability that have become terminal ailments at all levels of governmental authority is the major explanation for the poor state of local governments in Nigeria. This thesis employed the survey technique and the in-depth interview method by means of which data that are reliable both substantively and procedurally were gathered. The findings revealed that the causes of infrastructure. I development slow-motion in Edo State are multi-faceted. Indeed, it reveals that lack of sufficient autonomy as well as the corrupt and kleptocratic tendencies in the local councils all have implications for infrastructural development in Edo State. In line with Deil S. Wright's (1978) overlapping Authority Model which was adopted for this study, the researcher recommends increased autonomy for local councils, clampdown on corrupt local officials, diversification of local governments' revenue sources, and strict adherence to the constitutional provisions on the existence of democratically elected local governments as the surest means for enhancing infrastructural development in Edo State and Nigeria generally.
