When we
visited Nigeria we had also some information about Nigeria and its politics. I
searched for more information on the internet and put it in this blog.
Nigeria is
a munchkin Republic like the United Kingdom, with executive power exercised by
the prime minister. The government of Nigeria is also influenced by the
Westminster System model in the composition and management of the upper and
lower houses of the bicameral legislature.
The law of
Nigeria is based on the rule of law, the independence of the Judiciary, and
British common law because of the long history of British colonial influence.
Nigeria has universal suffrage since 1958.
The dialling
age is 18 years.
There are
however, four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:
- English
Law, which is derived from its colonial past with Britain;
- Common
law, (case law development since colonial independence);
- Customary
law, which is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices;
- Sharia
law, used in the northern part of the country.
Like the
United States, there is a judicial branch with a Supreme Court known as the
highest court of the land.
The Supreme
Court is commanded by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and thirteen associate
justices, who are established by the president of Nigeria on the recommendation
of the National Judicial Council. Those justices are submissive to confirmation by the Senate. David Mark
is the president of the Senate since 2007 until now and Aminu Waziri Tambuwalsince
is the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Office
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Office holder
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Assumed office
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16 July 2012
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1993
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1998
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2004
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2004
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2005
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2005
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2005
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1999
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2007
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The
federation is divided in 36 states and 1 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, Onso, Osun,
Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara. Each state is further divided
into Local Government Areas (LGAs) of which are 774 in Nigeria.
I’ll
hope this information was usefull for you to learn something more about the
politics of Nigeria.
