There is also a political mapping of the world that shows what form of government each country has, as well as a brief description of what each form of government entails. List of countries by system of government wikipedia. Like the united states, brazil and india, nigeria as a federation, a colonial heritage necessitated by her multiculturality has 36 states, a federal capital territory abuja and a 774 local government area structure and adopted the united states presidential system since 1979 which replaced the british parliamentary system of government. According to the structure of this organization, the president is the head of states.
Problems and prospects of the evoting option idike, adeline nnenna, a department of public administration and local government university of nigeria, nsukka email. The npc and ncnc had to go into a coalition to form the federal government on 20 december 1959 in a ratio of 10 npc ministers to 7 ncnc cabinet members. Under this system, the prime minister who was the leader of the party with majority seats in the parliament was the substantive head of government at the centre federal while the president was a mere ceremonial head. Legislatureexecutive relations in the presidential system. It operates the presidential system of government and has three supporting arms which are the executive, the legislative and judiciary. This system has what a parliamentary one largely lacks. It has seen its changes to military regime to democracy era, including the good and bad sides of these regimes. The president of nigeria is elected using a modified two round system, to be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote and over 25% of the vote in at least 24 of the 36 states. The nigerian government structure has taken on different shapes from 1960, when she gained her independence.
Nigeria has a presidential system of government consisting of three distinct. That is, it was a system akin to dual citizenship with citizens being simultaneously members of both a regional and a general polity. Pdf power relations among institutions of government in. System, including mandatory twoparty system, 21 states, and greater local government. In 1988, finland instituted a new system for presidential elections. The federal government of nigeria is composed of three distinct branches. It is the fourth constitution following independence from the united kingdom. The presidential system of government is a system of government where the president has strong. The need to build a good working relationship between the executive and the legislature in both presidential and parliamentary system of government is germane to this study. Nigerias political system and the people vanguard news.
Apart from its success in many countries, the failures of its rival systems especially autocracydictatorship. What was original in this american federal system of government was the feature that citizens were directly represented at not only the regional level of government, but also at the new overarching, general level. Local government, grassroot mobilization, democratic representation, colonialism, federalism. Dakas nigeria, named after the river niger, is situated on the southern coast of west africa. A presidential system is a democratic and republican government in which a head of government leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. Between presidential and parliamentary system of government. A presidential system is advantageous because of the relationship between the executive and the legislature. A system of government run by a central government headed by a president. On 1, october 1960, nigeria, after several years of british colonial rule, became an independent nation. So far the local government system in nigeria has not been stable and thus its future remains bleak, uncertain and insecure.
Nnamdi azikiwe became the first president of independent nigeria, with sir. A former british colony, nigeria became independent on september 30, 1960 and a republic on october 1, 1963. Compare and contrast presidential and parliamentary. This was the year nigeria assumed both political and military control of its territory. Nigerias ethnic and religious communities have challenged the legitimacy of. From independence onwards, nigeria has been grappling with the task of. The change in status called for no practical alteration of the constitutional system. The study empirically investigated the relationship between political stability and economic growth in nigeria for the period 1999 to 2014 using the ardl model approach. Under the 1999 constitution, executive power is vested in a president who serves as both the head of state and the chief executive, is directly elected to a fouryear term, and nominates the vice president and members of the cabinet. This writers bias is for the presidential system of government and he makes no apology in asserting that nigeria s borrowed presidential constitution has revealed greater potential for unity. May 30, 2017 presidential system has failed nigerians, says yakassai, was the screaming headline in the guardian of may 29, 2017. The nigerian government structure explained oasdom. The role of nigeria local government in rural development.
The president whose constituency is the entire country, combines government powers with ceremonial powers, and is also commanderinchief of the. Nigeria is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is both head of state and head of government, and of a multiparty system. A government, in this regard, derives its authority from the people who, in essence, choose those in government. Nigeria as a country has had her share of democratic structure. Abstract this paper examined the extent to which the citizens are involved in political activities. The government of nigeria witnessed many structural changes in the few past decades in its political system.
Presidential system of government in nigeria facts you. The presidential system is good for nigeria punch newspapers. The executive also formulates public policy and provides political leadership. Malam tanko yakassai in the report canvassed a return to the. Governmental and political history of nigeria the first republic. In terms of democracy, this makes the president s authority more legitimate as he is elected directly by the people as oppose to being appointed indirectly. A presidential system of government is one in which there is an executive president, that is, someone vested with all executive powers and who combines the office of head of state and head of government. Arms of government in nigeria and their functions the executive branch the executive arm of the nigerian government structure is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of law, among other responsibilities.
Independence from british rule came to pass in nigeria on the 1 st of october, 1960. A study of lagos and ogun states, nigeria, 19992011 was carried out by oni samuel o. It operates the presidential system of government with three distinct but complementary arms namely the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, each acting as a check on. Ap comparative government and politics nigeria briefing paper.
The nature and challenges of local government administration in nigeria local government is the system of political decentralisation in which the power base of decision making is, to a great extent, not national but local. The first independent government was formed by a coalition of northern and eastern political parties, with nnamdi azikiwe as the president and abubakar tafawa balewa as prime minister. The structure of nigerian government and politics political. This newly formed country would go on to become a republic three years down the line on 1, october, 1963. The research also observed that the nigerian political system is a federal republic with a presidentia. However, the conduct of elections in evolving democracy in nigeria is deficient in these cardinal. Issues and contentions omololu fagbadebo doctoral candidate, school of social sciences, university of kwazulunatal, pietermaritzburg campus, south africa suzanne francis. The president forms his government by selecting the members of his cabinet either within or outside his political party. As the nigerian senate leader, senator sola saraki, has put it. Power relations among institutions of government in nigerias presidential system. The legislative branch, the national assembly, which is said to have been modeled after the united states congress, is a bicameral body with a 360member house of representatives and a 109member senate. The principle of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances are the two major mechanisms that define power relations among branches of government in presidential system.
Political stability and economic growth in nigeria 1dennis terpase nomor, ph. The idea of democratic self government is incompatible with electoral farces ojo, 2008. The assumption of the culture of presidential system is the near absence of personalization of power. This is to certify that this study titled legislatureexecutive relations in the presidential system. In nigeria, the presidential system of government is the type of political organization in which the president is the head of state, in person and in reality. Presidential government uchem raphael onyebuchi department of political science, nasarawa state university, keffi nigeria west africa tel. This head of government is in most cases also the head of state, which is called president. With the promises which democracy seemed to hold for the people of nigeria, the system was, popularly embraced and. President muhammadu buhari overview government name. Nigerias states are subdivided into 774 local government areas, each of which is governed by a council that is responsible for supplying basic needs.
The constitution provides for a separation of powers among the three branches of government. British colonial era, the british colonial power deliberately imposed the federal system on nigeria in order to maintain a post colonial control of the country after political independence. It provides for a presidential system of government in which there is an executive, a legislature and a judiciary, with each acting as a check and balance on the powers of the other two arms. Federal republic of nigeria ignatius akaayar ayua and dakas c. What are the reasons for the creation of local government in nigeria. Given the territorially delineated cleavages abounding in nigeria and the historical legacy of divisions among ethnic groups, regions, and sections, the federal imperative was so fundamental that even military governmentscharacteristically unitarian, hierarchical, and centralistattached importance to the continuation of a federal system of government. Jul 10, 2014 local government as corporate body become modernized in 1976 when local government was recognized as a third tier of government following. A parliamentary system of government has bicephalous political executives. In many states, presidential system is adopted at the local government level which implies that there should be unity of the executive, separation of powers, and check and balances between the executive and legislature.
Here, the president is both head of state and head of government. The main difference between parliamentary and presidential form of government is that in the parliamentary system, there exists a harmonious relationship between the legislative and executive body, while the judiciary body works independently. The presidential system is better for democracy than the parliamentary one because of its separation of powers, the role of the judiciary, and government accountability to its people. In terms of the relationship between the legislative and executive branches of government, modern governments can be classified into the parliamentary system, the presidential system, and the semiquasi presidential system. An overview of presidential system at the local government level. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative means of data collection. Political structurehierarchy of the nigerian government. Nnamdi azikiwe became the republics first president.
Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic, have been given for the creation of local government. In 1963 nigeria became a republic within the commonwealth. The research also observed that the nigerian political system is a federal republic. As at that time, nigeria was still following the british system of government in which there is a prime minister and a ceremonial president. Nigeria is divided into 36 states and the capital is abuja with a federal system of government. Fgn federal government of nigeria fsn foreign service national fy fiscal year. The presidential system of government in nigeria defines the political organization of this country. The presidential system is a form of government in which the president is the chief executive and is elected directly by the people. Health system strengthening and capacity building 79 5. This is after a period of military rule in the past. In presidential countries, the executive is elected and is not responsible to the legislature, which cannot in normal. Another advantage of a presidential system is the stability it brings as presidents are usually elected to fixed terms while a prime ministers government can fall at anytime. Arms of government in nigeria and the tiers information. In the first republic, the last governorgeneral of nigeria, dr.
Thus, local government council is a government at the grassroots level of administration meant for meeting peculiar grassroots needs of the people. Thus, free and fair election is a condicio sine qua non for a political system to be termed democratic, but not every election fulfils these criteria. The list is colourcoded according to the type of government, for example. American presidential system was designed to limit the impact of ethnicity on. We have just started to practise the presidential system of government, but little did we know at the. Local government administration in nigeria is classified as the third tier of government while several problems have been its recurring decimal and various reforms since 1976 havent been able to make the system effective and responsible to developmental challenges. An overview of presidential system at the local government. The model of government under the 1999 constitution is called the presidential system of government. Thus, the practice of democracy, which is the government of the people by the people and for the people, as represented in nigeria by the political party system, has failed woefully because. General elections that ushered in a new government at independence in 1960. The nigerian government and politics are built around the presidential system of government, which was copied from the united states of america. Nigeria has a presidential system of government consisting of three distinct branches.
Modeling local government system in nigeria ajbmr 141 government that is responsible for local affairs, a sub division of the nation, and has a defined territory. As against this, in presidential form of government, the three organs of the government work independently of each other. One of the creatures of presidential system of government is electoral system in that the president and elected officers of the government usually come into power through electoral process. Difference between parliamentary and presidential form of. By an act of the british parliament, nigeria became an independent country within the commonwealth on october 1, 1960. This is a list of countries by system of government. Within this system, functions are locally and directly executed by.
Nigeria is a federal republic, with executive power exercised by the. Does this argument hold in the nigerian presidential system. The structure of nigerian government and politics 1999 and 2007 abstract this project research work describes and analyses the structure of nigerian government and politics between 1999 and 2007 in other to improve the understanding of the operation of government and politics in nigeria. In this system all three branches executive, legislative, and judiciary are constitutionally independent of each other, and no branch can dismiss or dissolve any other. The constitution further provides for the operation of three tiers of government, at the federal, state and local levels. In nigeria, states enjoy a level of sovereignty, but this sovereignty is within the constraints of the federal government as provided for by the constitution. Presidential and parliamentary systems are the two universally acclaimed systems of organizing. Tafawa balewa serving as the first and only prime minister of the country the government of the first republic did not last as it came to a halt via several coup attempts with. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist. Although the first postindependence parliamentary elections were held in december 1964, the. An overview of presidential system at the local government level in nigeria prof. Most of the thriving nations in the world practise this system of government e. Even within the government, both in the centre and in the states, there are some top officials who have since discovered that this presidential system of government. Local government administration in nigeria and the.
The future of nigeria egovernment worldcomp proceedings. Introduction nigeria is situated on the gulf of guinea in west africa with a land mass of 923, 768 square kilometres. The constitution provides for a bicameral national assembly, which consists of the house of. Each state in nigeria has its own capital city and it is governed by an elected official known as a governor who serves a maximum of two 4 year tenures maximum of 8 years.
The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided by the constitution of nigeria. It has also faced its share of ethnic, religious, and class differences which gave some dents in its structure. Nigerias enormous human and material resources in an enabling environment that strong democratic institutions and the rule of law provide, would have yielded more dividends for the country and her citizenry in the last sixteen years save for the politics of the. Nigerian politics takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential. The version of this system of government in nigeria has its advantages and disadvantages. The ag led by awolowo formed the opposition in the parliamentary westminster system of government. The evolution, development and practice of federalism in. The local government councils, which are regarded as the third tier of government below the federal and state levels, receive monthly subsidies from a national federation account. The political and governmental history of nigeria nigerian. These institutional control measures are meant to avert. Global journal of arts humanities and social sciences vol. After this period the country has managed to survive and redefine kits comprehensive political system. Reasons the presidential system of democracy is better. Nigeria is a federal republic with a presidential system.
Nigeria became a federal republic, modelling its federal structure to resemble that operated by the united states government. In nigeria, power relations among the three branches of government are clearly defined to ensure the promotion of good governance. The system is not favouring us because, too much power has been allocated to the president by the constitution. This means that to become a president under presidential system n government is not by appointment rather by free and fair election. The president, elected to a fiveyear term by a joint session of the parliament, replaced the crown as the symbol of national sovereignty and the british monarch as head of state. It shares borders with benin to the west, cameroon and chad to the east, and niger to the north. Nigeria is a federal republic comprises of 36 states as well as the fct.
If no candidate passes this threshold, a second round is held. Nigeria was a large country comprising more than 400 ethnic groups combined differently to constitute the major precolonial political system. Jun 02, 2014 even within the government, both in the centre and in the states, there are some top officials who have since discovered that this presidential system of government will lead us to nowhere. But the president s term of office is fixed, so the system is not parliamentary. The argument that democracy is the best system of government is not without proof. A study of some selected local government areas in ondo state, nigeria.