Before the 1976 reforms, local government administration in Nigeria was characterised by

Before the 1976 Local Government Reforms introduced by the Murtala Mohammed/Obasanjo military administration, local government in Nigeria was characterised by high centralisation. Regional and later state governments exercised tight control over local authorities, which had no constitutionally guaranteed autonomy, no independent revenue base, and no uniform structure across the country.

In the Northern Region, the Native Authority system placed local governance under emirs and chiefs who answered to the regional government. In the Western and Eastern Regions, different council systems existed, all subject to regional supervision. Local authorities could be created, dissolved, or restructured at the pleasure of the regional or state government, and they performed only those functions that the higher level of government chose to delegate.

The 1976 reforms sought to change this by establishing a single-tier, uniform local government system nationwide, introducing elected councils, granting local governments statutory functions and a share of federal revenue, and recognising them as a distinct third tier of government. Before those reforms, however, the dominant feature was centralisation of power at the regional and state level, leaving local government with little independence.