SYSTEMA GOVERNMENT

Introdution

igeria operates a presidential system of government in which the President is Head of State as well as Head of Government.

There is a bicameral legislature made up of the Upper House (Senate) and the Lower House (House of Representatives).

This is the National Assembly. Each State of the Nigerian Federation has a unicameral legislature called State House of Assembly.

A third arm of Nigeria’s democracy is the Judiciary.

The Judiciary consists of various courts with different jurisdictions.

They range from the customary and magistrate courts to State and Federal High Courts.

The Supreme Court is the apex court.

The form of Government is based on principles of separation of powers, where power is shared between the three arms of Government.

There are three tiers of government in Nigeria. They are:

- FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

- STATE GOVERNMENTS (which are 36 and Abuja, the Federal Capital)

- LOCAL GOVERNMENTS (which are 774).

The specific duties of each tier of government are spelt out in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the various schedules, which consist of an exclusive list for the Federal Government, the concurrent list from which both Federal and State Governments draw their powers, and the residual list that applies to the State and local governments.

The three arms of Government at the Federal Level are:

- Executive

- Legislature

- Judiciary