Abstract

Effective political leadership is essential to facilitate successful attainment of public goals. The focal point of this paper is to assess the leadership role of political office-holders towards achieving the aims and objectives of local government vis-à-vis prospects and challenges. It reviews the conceptual issues related to leadership with reference to Nigerian Local Government; and examines the contemporary theories justifying the existence and need for local government. Data are gathered both from primary and secondary sources. This study appraises the performance of political office-holders using the highlighted objectives within the theoretical perspective as parameters. At the end, this paper analyses salient issues; as well as providing recommendations as regards political leadership development at local level.

Key words: Leadership, governance, political office- holders, local government.