CHAPTER ONE

1.1   INTRODUCTION
        Planning is regarded as the most important function of management in every establishment e.g. public or private organization. Therefore, among other management function it is simply the first.

        The essence of planning by any organization is to use the past present to forecast the future. Therefore planning and forecasting are synonymous. This bring the idea of planning and management.

        From the foregoing. It must be noted that the local government area need much of this planning under a political dispensation because they are closer to the people and they are responsible directly to the people or electorates who elects them.

        The success or otherwise of any local government or organization or individuals alike depends largely on how will they able to plan. Indeed, it is the foundation which the nation is built upon. According to Nwachuwu (1998) planning goes beyond attempting to attain staked organization objectives it involved the development of strategy and procedure required for effective realization of the entire plan. It entails determination of control direction and methods of accomplishing the overall organizational objectives.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

        Lack of goods plan

Ignorance on the part of the chief executive

Lack of time to execute a programme on long term

Lac of expertise

Poor information system

Mis-information activities

Consistent policies on the part of the local government

How inadequate finance hinder planning process

Lack of purposeful leadership

1.3   OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

        The overall objective of the study is to critical examine planning as a management function

Below are the specific objective

1. i. Look closely the role of planning as a management function
2. Examine the various causes of failure to plan

• find out the reasons for the planning as a management function

1. investigate into the cause of inadequate financial resources at the local government level
2. investigate into the reason for poor information system
3. inspect closely into what causes the financial misappropriate at the local government level

• assess vigorously the main reasons why the local government could not achieve their objectives

1.4   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

        To disclose the level in which facilure to plan hinder the progress of the local government. To ascertain the causes of lack of planning local government in Nigeria

        It further diagnose the causes of irregular payment of workers salaries to the management of local government it reveals the causes of problem of project abandonment. It enables us look closely into the reason behind lack of purposely leaders at helms of affairs of the local government

        To investigate the aftermath of inadequate fund or zero allocation at the local government.