CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

The new civil services move with designed to make the service more functional professional, productive and responsive to the socio-economic needs of the nation. The federal government has also recently revamped and restructured the local government system to enable it perform its role of promoting, co-ordinating and implementing community services enhancing citizens participation and maximizing the use of local resources. Enormous amount of money of flowing to the local government form the federation account, the of the state internally generated revenue and the revenue of the local government.

The federal government of Nigeria came up with a financial instruction in 1979, instructing all local government to set up internal audit unit in each local government. But the behaviour and attitude of operation of local government system resulted in many local government not setting up internal audit unit or if set up. They were not functional. The federal government in 1988 set in motion a real ware of change. A real frame work of internal auditing in the local government was spelt out in order to make it less difficult for management of the local government as the greatest contributing factor to the poor performances of local government.