Launched in 2009 as a joint effort by the UNDP and UNHABITAT offices in Nigeria, with support from UNDP’s Global Programme on Governance Assessments, this initiative was aimed at developing a customized  framework for assessing the quality of urban governance in Nigerian cities. The ultimate objective was to initiate an evidence-based dialog on priority areas for intervention to improve the quality of local/urban governance across the country. This publication is the outcome of these ambitions.