About the Department
History of the Department
The programme in Local Government Studies started at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in 1984 as a training programme funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The programme was (and still is being) run in three regional centers, namely: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU) for the north; University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) for the east; and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) for the west.
The objective at the early stage was for the programme to offer support, in the form of training and re-training faculities, to junior as well as senior local government staff to improve their performance on the job. Thus, staff capacity was, in turn, expected to raise the profile of local government councils and to justify the efforts by governments at Federal and State levels that had seen new vigor since 1976, to make Local Government (LG) a visible and effective third tier of government in Nigeria’s federal practice.
Over the year, the programme has expanded to meet new demands as well as changing scholarship conditions. Thus, the Senate approved the change of nomenclature in 2019 to Department of Local Government and Development Studies. With the new nomenclature, the department continues to offer full range of courses from sub-degree diploma through B.Sc. to postgraduate degrees.
H. A. ADEFESO
(B. Sc., MSc, M.Phil., Ph.D. (Ife)