Recently, the role of local government in providing basic services as listed above has attracted public concern. It has generated national crisis as a result of increasing rate of poverty among the rural people. Some scholars attributed this development to poor budgeting and implementation while others associate it to the federal and state governments' interference. Whatever may be the reason; there is considerable emphasis, possibly on an over-emphasis on budgeting in the federal government against the under-emphasis on budgeting practices and procedures in state and local governments in Nigeria. The paper argued that the impact of budget on the socio-economic development of any nation depends on how effective their budget was initiated and implemented. It was concluded that boasting and bringing out the best of the expectancies of what the local government areas stands to offer, the place of financial appropriations and allocation cannot be exonerated hence, the importance of budgeting.

African governments are increasingly assuming new functions to respond to social and economic needs, and these functions are slowly becoming part of the accepted responsibilities of government. These book addresses the need to modernise and improve budgetary concepts and procedures; and documents work achieved so far to make the budget system responsive to the increasing responsibilities of the state, and people's search for a better quality of life. The study discusses and provides practical guidance on how the budgetary system can be an effective device for planning, reviewing and controlling government operations, particularly in relation to the implementation of national development within the scope of public budget. Contents: budget policy; programme performance and the budgeting system; budget preparation, legislative authorisation; budget execution; budget accountability; government financial management; and the governmental budget department. The author is a member of the Department of Management and Accounting, at the University of Ife, Nigeria.