Fiscal autonomy to the three tiers of government in a federated country like Nigeria suppose to be synonymous with fiscal federalism fiscal equity, fiscal independence among its federating units. However, the Nigerian situation generally and that of Akwa Ibom State in particular seem to be more of racism as portrayed in the quotes above, hence the need to dig dip and fix its root problem for possible solution through a research of this kind.

Invariably, Nigeria as a federal state made up of three tiers of governments has delegated the constitutional assignment of responsibilities to each of   the tiers in both the exclusive and concurrent lists with financial burden (Edame, 2004:249).unfortunately, due to the about eighty (80) per cent financial dependent nature of the federating units (states and local governments) on the federal government, those units become financially vulnerable, or what Edame calls “unviable political entities”. This problem is found to be more peculiar to local governments; and worsened by the unnecessary interferences or excessive control by the  state governments.

Notably, the control of local governments in Nigeria by national and state governments is not only as old as the system itself, it also borders most significantly on fiscal policies. For instance, during the colonial rule, local government control, done through the deconcentrated agents of regional governments -the Residents, left no room for the local populace to contribute anything except their dues and taxes into the coffers of the colonial masters (Awofeso, 2004:66). The native authorities (as local administration was then called) were at the mercy of the Residents- who made and implemented policies to suit the whims and caprices of their boss at the expense of the local people’s developmental well-being (Awofeso, 2004:127). In short, the idea of fiscal autonomy, or the likes, appeared unimaginable then