The Government in Nigeria

The government of Nigeria is a federal presidential representative democratic republic wherein the President is both the head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. It consists of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. The current president is Umaru Yar’Adua while the current vice-president is Goodluck Jonathan.

The Executive Branch composes of the offices of the President, Vice-President, and Secretary to the Federal Government, and various Ministries. Nigeria has a rotating presidency in order that the 3 major regions (North, East, West) share political the power of the country. The bicameral legislation of Nigeria has 2 chambers – the House of Representatives and the Senate. The former has 360 members and elected for 4-year term while the latter has 109 members for the same term. The highest court in Nigeria is the Supreme Court and presided by the Chief Justice and 13 associate justices. The country has 4 different systems of laws – English Law, common law, constitutional law, and the Sharia law.

Nigeria is divided into 36 states and 1 federal capital territory (Abuja). Every state is further divided up into Local Government Areas (LGAs); there are 774 LGAs in the country. Kano State has the most number of LGAs with 44 while Bayelan State has the least with 9.