Intergovernmental Relations (Pols 202)

Introduction

Nigeria practices federalism, and effective governance under this system depends on constant interaction between its constituent levels of government. Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) refers to this network of interactions among the federal, state, and local governments, as well as among the branches of government, as they work to achieve their respective constitutional mandates.

Southwest Governors 

Post Independent Nigeria

As a nation that practices federalism—the Nigerian state comprises 3 tiers of government—namely: the federal, state, and local government—for the central and regional governments to achieve their set goals, the different levels of government must interact. These interactions among the levels of government is what is referred to as IGR.

Levels of IGR

1. National-state relations — The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria establishes the IGR between the federal and state governments. First, the creation of states in Nigeria is one of the constitutional responsibilities of the federal government (via the National Assembly). Furthermore, revenue allocation between the federal and state governments in Nigeria is also a serious dimension of national-state relations, where revenues to each of the 36 states come from the Federation Account. National and state governments also collaborate in areas of security, provision of social amenities, and provision of an enabling environment for business to thrive.

2. National-state-local relations — This has to do with the relationship between the 3 levels of government in Nigeria. The 1999 Constitution, under the State-Local Government Joint Account arrangement (Section 162), traditionally required that federal allocations to local governments pass through state governments. However, a landmark Supreme Court judgment of July 2024 affirmed that local governments should receive their statutory allocations directly from the Federation Account, bypassing the states. This was a judicial pronouncement rather than a constitutional amendment, and its implementation has been gradual and unevenly complied with by state governments.

3. Inter-state relations — This is a type of governmental relation that exists between states in Nigeria, and these could be regional, such as the NGF (Northern Governors' Forum), or national in scope.

4. State-local government relations — Essentially has to do with the relationship between the states and the various local governments within them. This relationship centres on areas such as primary education and healthcare service delivery, among others.

5. Inter-local government relations — Relations across the various local governments, both within and across states.

While all these levels of IGR serve administrative purposes, they also serve political functions.

Apart from the foregoing types, another critical dimension of IGR in post-independence Nigeria concerns the relationship between the major branches of government—the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. While Nigeria's democratic experience is constitutionally expected to rest on the principle of separation of powers, in reality this separation has been problematic, marked by issues such as executive influence over the legislature and the judiciary.

Conclusion

Intergovernmental Relations remain central to the functioning of Nigeria's federal system, shaping how power, resources, and responsibilities are shared and contested across the different tiers and arms of government. Understanding these relations—and how they continue to evolve, as seen in the recent shift toward direct local government funding—is essential to appreciating the practical realities of Nigerian federalism beyond its constitutional text.