Political system of Nigeria

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The political system of Nigeria is dominated by democratic revolutions from 1998.

After its independence from Great Britain and Northern Ireland on October 1, 1960, Nigeria had a very eventful history. Democratically legitimized and elected governments and authoritarian regimes quickly alternated. The military government under Sani Abacha from 1993 to 1998 was considered one of the most repressive systems in Africa.

In 1999 the multi-ethnic state of Nigeria was democratized again. Since then, Nigeria has been a presidential Federal Republic in the Commonwealth of Nations , the so-called 4th Republic . However, the system is still riddled with corruption . In the 2019 Democracy Index of The Economist magazine , Nigeria ranks 109th out of 167 countries, making it one of the hybrid regimes .

Constitution

The current Nigerian Constitution has been in force since May 29, 1999. It is based on the Constitution of the United States and provides that Nigeria is federally structured and that the head of state - the president - is also the head of government. Thus Nigeria is defined as a democratic federal presidential republic. Legislative power is nominally of the National Assembly ( National Assembly ), which consists of two chambers - the Senate and House of Representatives exercised -. The federal government initially receives the funds from oil revenues , which make up the largest part of government revenues. These are then distributed in the country according to a key established in the constitution.

In the constitution, the implementation in practice is particularly criticized. There is also criticism of the - in the opinion of many - too strong centralistic elements in the constitution. In addition, the question arises in the country as to how participation in state authority can be guaranteed for different peoples in the constitution. For these reasons there was a debate about constitutional reform. In 2006, an attempt to reform the constitution failed because both chambers of parliament rejected the possible third term of office of the president included in the reform.

Government system

Seal of the Nigerian President
See also: List of Heads of State in Nigeria and List of Authorities in Nigeria

The President of Nigeria, who has extensive powers, is the head of state and also the head of government of the country. He therefore has a strong position in the executive branch of the political system and directs the Cabinet, even Federal Executive Council ( Federal Executive Council called). He is also the commander in chief of the armed forces . The president is elected directly every four years and has a maximum of two terms of office. The President's bills must be approved by the Senate.

The federal ministries are responsible for the state-owned companies, universities, the National Broadcasting Commission (state media) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (oil industry). The ministers proposed and appointed by presidents must be confirmed in office by the Senate.

houses of Parliament

See also: List of Political Parties in Nigeria

The National Assembly of Nigeria consists of two chambers and the legislative period lasts 4 years. The House of Representatives ( Nigerian House of Representatives ) has 360 seats and a spokesman, called the Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives . This office has been held by Dimeji Bankole since 2007 . The Senate ( Senate of Nigeria ), however, has 109 seats and a Senate President, the President of Senate . David Mark held this post from 2007 to 2015 . There are a total of 36 constituencies for each of the 36 states. Three seats are reserved for each constituency. A seat is also reserved for the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

Majority suffrage prevails in the elections . The political parties in Nigeria often function as election platforms for politicians. According to the constitution, only party representatives are allowed to take part in elections ; non- party members are not allowed; Orientation of the parties to ethnic or even religious groups is expressly prohibited. There is usually no orientation towards specific interest groups or ideologies with the larger parties. The distribution of seats for the political parties since the parliamentary elections on April 29, 2007 has been as follows:

Political party politics Seats
HoR senate
People's Democratic Party liberal conservative 260 85
All Nigeria People's Party conservative 62 16
Action Congress liberal 32 6th
Progressive People's Alliance progressive 3 1
Labor Party socialist 1 0
Accord (Small party) 0 1
total 360 109
Source: IPU Parline

jurisdiction

States where Islamic Sharia law applies (green)

The highest court in the country of Nigeria is the Supreme Court of Nigeria . It is directed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria . Chief Justice has been Aloysius Iyorgyer Katsina-Alu since December 30, 2009 . It is supported by 13 associate justices . Together these form the highest judges in the country. They are proposed by the National Judicial Council , appointed by the President, and must be approved by the Senate. The death penalty can still be used in Nigeria . However, human rights are enforceable in the constitution.

There are four different forms of the legal system in Nigeria. So there is the English law with the common law from the British colonial era, the Nigerian constitutional law and sharia , Islamic law , which exacerbates the penalties . In 1999 and 2000, Islamic Sharia law was officially introduced in twelve states in the north of the country. The states that use Sharia law are Bauchi , Borno , Gombe , Kaduna , Kano , Katsina , Kebbi , Jigawa , Niger , Sokoto , Yobe, and Zamfara . In these northern states, the death penalty can be used by stoning. In addition, a vigilante Islamic religious police , so-called Hezbah groups, is active in these states .

Furthermore, traditional leaders ( chiefs and emirs) continue to have great influence - especially in rural areas, they often have the function of mediators. Traditional customary law can also be used in this context .

administration

Nigeria Political Map

Nigeria is a federal republic, a federation of 36 states and the federal capital territory (the Federal Capital Territory around Abuja ). Each state has its own government, which is headed by a directly elected governor, and its own state parliament. The states themselves are divided into a total of 774 local government areas . During the military dictatorships in particular, central power was expanded and the comparatively autonomous positions of the federal states weakened. Administration and legislation were centralized, while the provisions of the federal constitutional elements were relaxed.

The states are: 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 , Nassarawa , Niger , Ogun , Ondo , Osun , Oyo , Plateau , Rivers , Sokoto , Taraba , Yobe and Zamfara .

literature

  • Steven Pierce: Moral Economics of Corruption. State Formation and Political Culture in Nigeria. Duke University Press, Durham, North Carolina, USA 2016, ISBN 978-0-8223-6077-3 .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Corruption in Nigeria. Epistemically shady in FAZ from August 31, 2016, page N3
  2. Democracy-Index 2019 Overview chart with comparative values ​​to previous years , on economist.com
  3. a b Foreign Office : Constitution and State Structure of Nigeria
  4. ^ Government Ministries in Nigeria . Commonwealth of Nations. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  5. BOARDS OF PARASTATALS . Office of the Head of Service of the Federation. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 21, 2009.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / hosf.gov.ng
  6. Jola Sotubo: Goodbye David Mark - Who will be Nigeria's next Senate President? pulse.ng, April 3, 2015, accessed April 4, 2015 .
  7. Foreign Office: Parties and Elections in Nigeria
  8. ^ Website of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
  9. Federal Foreign Office: Nigeria's domestic policy