Repositioning Town Unions as the Fourth-Tier of Government in South East Nigeria; Lessons from Covid-19

There has been identified gaps in governance between the rural dwellers and the government in Nigeria especially as it relates intervention and development programmes. Although practicing a federal system of government which has three tiers – Federal, state and local governments, the gap of service delivery to the rural indigenes has kept widening due to corruption, nepotism, structural inefficiencies and partisanship. The incidence of Covid-19 in 2020 further exposed this gap because intervention programs to the rural indigenes either did not get to them or were not effectively managed due to the structure and format of the distribution. This paper examines the potential of repositioning town unions as a functional fourth tier of government in South-East Nigeria, leveraging lessons from their critical roles over the years and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Town unions, traditionally seen as grassroots socio-cultural and developmental organizations, has demonstrated commitment, resource mobilization, planning and execution of community-tailored projects and effective governance capabilities in the communities they represent. They have a history of effective management of rural development, self-funded intervention during crisis, and addressing gaps left by formal governmental structures. Through an interdisciplinary approach, including qualitative analysis of government pandemic-era interventions and stakeholder engagements, and identifying the gaps of governance, the study highlights how these unions can facilitate quality healthcare delivery, distribute palliatives, and promote community-centred development. The paper argues that institutionalizing town unions within Nigeria’s governance framework in the Southeast of Nigeria could enhance localized decision-making, bolster rural development, and improve crisis response mechanisms. The paper explores and identifies challenges such as politicization and limited regulatory oversight faced by already existing government frameworks that will be corrected by the emergence of town unions as the credible alternative. By contextualizing the lessons from COVID-19, the study offers a blueprint for sustainable community-driven governance in South-East Nigeria and beyond.