COUNCILORS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF SOUTHERN IJAW LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BAYELSA STATE

Abstract

The fundamental rationale for the creation of local government is for the development of the rural areas. The need to examine and evaluate the contributions of councilors in local government administration and its impact on the development of local government generally and paying particular attention to Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State prompted this study. The Marxian political economy was adopted as the theoretical framework. This theory is concerned with the laws which govern the production and distribution of resources in a society. The analysis here is based on the “productive forces”. This concept refers to the combination of three elements of the labour process; labour power, object of labour and means of labour, these three elements together constitute the “productive forces” which is considered to be a major determinant of development in any society. Emphasis was basically laid on labour power where Councilors in the local government system are part of. Based on our findings, it was concluded that, the development of local government lies greatly on councilors. The lack of development at the local government level is partly as a result of the lack of performance of councilors. However, some factors were identified to have militated against their effective performance. In the light of these, recommendations have been proffered with a view to improve councilors’ performance of their role in achieving sustainable development at the local government level.