Politics of NigeriaBenedict S. Gombocz

Overview

• Nigeria is a Federal Republic whose model is based on that of the United States, with the president exercising executive power.

• The political system of Nigeria is additionally influenced by the Westminster System model with respect to the structure and supervision of the upper and lower houses of a bicameral legislature.

• The President of Nigeria nevertheless serves as head of state and head of government, and he additionally leads a multi-party system.

• Nigeria’s politics function within a structure of a federal presidential representative democratic republic where the government exercises executive power.

• The government and the legislature’s two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, hold legislative power.

• The two chambers together comprise Nigeria’s law-making body, called the National Assembly, which acts as a check on government’s executive arm.

• The Supreme Court of Nigeria is Nigeria’s highest judiciary arm of government.

• Like the United States, Nigeria also adheres to Baron de Montesquieu’s theory of the separation of powers.

Major leaders of Nigeria

Major leaders of Nigeria • Government: Federal presidential republic

• President: Goodluck Jonathan

• Vice President: Namadi Sambo

• Legislature: National Assembly

• Upper house: Senate

• Lower house: House of Representatives

National Assembly of Nigeria

Legal system

• The law of Nigeria is modeled on the rule of law, the judiciary’s independence, and British common law (as a result of the long history of British control of Nigeria).

• The legal system bears similarity to common law systems used in England and Wales and other Commonwealth nations.

• The Constitution of Nigeria provides the constitutional structure for the legal system.

• Nonetheless, Nigeria uses four different systems of law:• English Law, which originates from its colonial past with Britain

• Common Law, case law improvement since independence from Britain

• Customary Law, which originates from native traditional standards and practices

• Sharia Law, used in the north of Nigeria

• As is the case of the United States, Nigeria has a judicial branch, with the Supreme Court as its highest court.

Executive Branch

Executive Branch • The president is elected by universal suffrage.

• He or she acts as both the chief of state and head of government, and leads the Federal Executive Council, or cabinet.

• The executive branch is divided into Federal Ministries, with each led by a minister appointed by the president.

• The president’s appointments have to include no less than one member from all thirty-six states in his cabinet; the Senate of Nigeria confirms the president’s appointments.

• A federal minister, in some cases, is liable for more than one ministry (Environment and Housing, for instance, are combined), or a minister may be helped by one or more ministers of State.

• Each ministry additionally has a Permanent Secretary, who is a senior civil servant.

• The responsibilities of the ministries are numerous parastatals (government-owned companies), including universities, the National Broadcasting Commission, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

• Conversely, some parastatals are the liability of the Office of the Presidency, like the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Federal Civil Service Commission.

Seal of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Legislative Branch

Legislative Branch • The House of Representatives and the Senate are the two

chambers of the National Assembly of Nigeria.

• The Speaker of the House of Representatives oversees the House of Representatives, which has 360 members who are elected to four-year terms in single-seat constituencies.

• The President of the Senate leads the Senate, which has 109 members.

• 108 members are elected to four-year terms in thirty-six three-seat constituencies, which correlate with the nation’s thirty-six states; one member is elected in the single-seat constituency of the federal capital.

Leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives

• Office: President of the Senate• Name: David Mark

• Term: 2007-present

• Office: Speaker of the House of Representatives

• Name: Aminu Waziri Tambuwal

• Term: 2011-present

Judicial Branch

• The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the Court of Appeals, the High Courts, and other trial courts like the Magistrates’, Customary, Sharia, and other specialized courts.

• The National Judicial Council acts as an independent executive body, and separates the judiciary from the government’s executive arm.

• The Chief Justice of Nigeria and thirteen associate justices, who are nominated by the President of Nigeria on the suggestion of the National Judicial Council, supervise the Supreme Court.

• The associate justices are subject to approval by the Senate.

Chief Justice and Associate Justices

• Office and office holder• Aloma Mariam Mukhtar (Chief Justice since 16 July 2012)

• Sylvester Umaru Onu (Associate Justice since 1993)

• Umaru Atu Kalgo (Associate Justice since 1998)

• G. A. Oguntade (Associate Justice since 2004)

• Sunday A. Akintan (Associate Justice since 2004)

• Mahmud Mohammed (Associate Justice since 2005)

• Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen (Associate Justice since 2005)

• Ikechi Francis Ogbuagu (Associate Justice since 2005)

• F. F. Tabai (Associate Justice since 1999)

• Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad (Associate Justice since 2005)

List of political parties

List of political parties • Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD)

• Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)

• Alliance for Democracy (AD)

• All Progressives Congress (APC)

• African Democratic Congress (ADC)

• All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)

• All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

• All People’s Party (APP)

• African Renaissance Party (ARP)

• Conscience People’s Congress (CPC)

• Communist Party of Nigeria (CPN)

List of political parties• Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)

• Democratic Alternative (DA)

• Democratic People’s Party (Nigeria) (DPP)

• Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)

• Fresh Democratic Party (FDP)

• Labour Party (LP)

• Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN)

• National Conscience Party (NCP)

• New Democrats (ND)

• National Democratic Party (NDP)

• People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

List of political parties (cont.)

• Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA)

• People Progressive Party (PPP)

• People’s Redemption Party (PRP)

• People’s Salvation Party (PSP)

• Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP)

• United Nigeria People’s Party (UNPP)

• United Progressive Party (UPP)

Administrative Divisions

Administrative Divisions • Nigeria is divided into thirty-six states and one territory: Federal Capital

Territory (Abuja), Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, and Zamfara.

• Every state is further divided into Local Government Areas (LGAs); Nigeria has 774 LGAs.

• Kano State has the most LGAs with forty-four, while Bayelsa State has the least with nine.

• There are six LGAs in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja.

• LGAs took the place of districts that were once the third-tier administration unit under Britain’s government.

Map

Goodluck Jonathan

Goodluck Jonathan • Born 20 November 1957 in Ogbia to a family of canoe makers in what is

modern day Bayelsa State.

• President of Nigeria since 6 May 2010 (Acting President from 9 February-6 May 2010).

• Was previously the Governor of Bayelsa State from 2005-2007 and VP of Nigeria from 2007-2010.

• Member of the governing People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

• Has a B.Sc. degree in Zoology, in which he achieved Second Class Honours; also has an M.Sc. degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a PhD degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt.

• Was an education examiner, professor, and environmental protection officer before he entered political life in 1998.

• He and his wife Patience have two children.

• He is a Christian from the Ijaw ethnic group.

• Declared his assets to be worth a total ₦ 295,304,420 Naira ($1,845,652 USD) in 2007.

Photo

Namadi Sambo

Namadi Sambo• Born August 2, 1954 in Zaria, Kaduna State.

• 4th and current VP of Nigeria since 19 May 2010.

• Engineer by training; is a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

• Went to Baptist Primary School in Kakuri, Kaduna prior to attending Kobi Primary School in Bauchi and Towns School No. 1 in Zaria.

• Went to Government Secondary School (now Alhuda-Huda College) in Zaria from 1967-1971.

• Went to the School of Basic Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria in 1972; subsequently was admitted into the Department of Architecture at the Ahmadu Bello University, from which he graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours BSc (Hons).

• Also has a Masters degree (MSc) in Architecture.

• Served with the Oyo State Ministry of Works and Housing for the National Youth Service Corps until August 1979.

• Was nominated Commissioner for Works, Transport and Housing, Kaduna, in 1988.

• Left the service of Kaduna State Government in 1990, returning to private practice.

Photo

The End