Nigeria is a republic, the 1999 Constitution is in force. Nigeria is a federation uniting 36 states (Abia, Adamawa, Aqua Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebony, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara), as well as the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Check computerminus for political system of Nigeria.
The largest cities: Lagos (13 million inhabitants), Ibadan, Ogbomosho, Kano, Oshogbo, Ilorin, Abeokuta, Port Harcourt, Zaria, Ilesha, Onich, Ivo.
The government of Nigeria is carried out by three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. The highest legislative body is the National Assembly, which consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The supreme body of executive power is the president, who is the head of state, the head of the executive branch of the Federation, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Armed Forces. The president nominates a member of the same political party for which he is running for vice president. Ministers of the National Executive Council – the government of the Federation are appointed by the President and then approved by the Senate. Executive authorities include the State Council, which carries out advisory functions under the President. The head of state and the highest body of executive power is the president. O. Obasanjo took office for a second four-year term on May 29, 2003. Vice President – Atiku Abubakar.
The President and deputies of the National Assembly are elected for a term of 4 years. The President is elected for no more than two terms. The candidate must receive at least 1/4 of the votes in elections in at least 2/3 of the states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The Senate (109 members) consists of three senators from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory. The House of Representatives (360 members) is elected from constituencies with approximately equal population. The Senate and the House of Representatives have their own speaker and his deputy, elected by the senators and members of the House from among themselves.
Prominent political leaders in Nigeria:
Nnamdi Azikiwe is the first local governor-general of the independent Federation of Nigeria. (1960–63), first president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. (1963-66);
Tafawa Baleva – the first prime minister of independent Nigeria (1960-66);
General Yakubu Gowon – head of the military regime (1966-75), returned and strengthened the federal structure of Nigeria, under his leadership the federal government won the internecine war of 1967-70;
General Murtala R. Mohammed – head of the military regime (1975-76), the most revered statesman in Nigeria. He launched the fight against corruption, carried out an administrative reform, decided to move the capital to the geographical center of the country, developed a schedule for the transfer of power to a civilian government;
General Olusegun Obasanjo – head of the military regime (1976-79), president of the Fourth Republic (1999 – present). During his first tenure in power, he continued the undertakings of M. Muhammad, transferred (for the first time in Africa) power in the country to the legally elected civilian government of Sheh Shagari (1979–83). In 1999 and in 2003 (re) democratically elected to the presidency. He brought the country out of political and economic isolation, ensured economic recovery, gave a social orientation to government policy, provided a legislative basis for the fight against corruption, etc.;
General Sani Abacha – head of the military regime, president (1993-98), introduced a strict police regime, launched repressions, including the physical elimination of opponents, which led to a drop in prestige and the well-known isolation of Nigeria in the international arena, during his reign, Nigeria reached the 1st th place in the world in terms of the level of corruption in the state apparatus.
Executive power in the states is given to governors who are elected for a term of 4 years and must receive at least 1/4 of the votes in elections in at least 2/3 of local government areas.
There is a multi-party system. 30 (in 1999 – 3) parties were allowed to participate in the 2003 general elections, however, only the People’s Democratic Party, the All-Nigerian People’s Party, the Union for Democracy, the United People’s Party of Nigeria, the National Democratic Party, and the People’s Salvation Party are represented in the National Assembly.
Leading business organizations: National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mining and Agriculture – NASSIMA, chambers of commerce in all states of Nigeria, bilateral chambers of commerce and industry with leading foreign partners, etc. Among other public organizations, the Nigerian Labor Congress stands out.
The internal policy of the administration is aimed at the democratization of Nigerian society, the fight against corruption, the settlement of ethnic and interfaith differences. At the heart of modern economic and social policy are the tasks to revive the declining economy, raise the standard of living of the population, return Nigerians to productive work and create new employment opportunities, orient the country to benefit from economic globalization, and turn Nigeria into the center of the West African economy.
