Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria
etymology: named after the Niger River that flows through the west of the country to the Atlantic Ocean; from a native term "Ni Gir" meaning "River Gir"
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
name: Abuja
geographic coordinates: 9 05 N, 7 32 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory*, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara
Independence:
1 October 1960 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)
Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 5 May 1999, effective 29 May 1999; amended several times, last in 2012 (2015)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and traditional law
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Nigeria
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 15 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Maj. Gen. (ret.) Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015); Vice President Oluyemi "Yemi" OSINBAJO (since 29 May 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Maj.Gen. (ret.) Muhammadu BUHARI (since 29 May 2015); Vice President Oluyemi "Yemi" OSINBAJO (since 29 May 2015)
cabinet: Federal Executive Council appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by 'qualified' majority popular vote and at least 25% of the votes cast in 24 of Nigeria's 36 states; president elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28-29 March 2015 (next to be held in February 2019)
election results: Muhammadu BUHARI elected president; percent of vote - Muhammadu BUHARI (CPC) 53%, Goodluck JONATHAN (PDP) 46%
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (109 seats - 3 each for the 36 states and 1 for Abuja; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) and the House of Representatives (360 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 28-29 March 2015 (next to be held in February 2019); House of Representatives - last held on 28-29 March 2015 (next to be held in 2019)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 60, PDP 49; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 225, PDP 125, other 10
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and 15 justices)
judge selection and term of office: judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, a 23-member independent body of federal and state judicial officials; judge appointments confirmed by the Senate; judges serve until age 65
subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; Federal High Court; High Court of the Federal Capital Territory; Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory; Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory; state court system similar in structure to federal system
Political parties and leaders:
Accord Party or ACC [Mohammad Lawal MALADO]
All Progressives Congress or APC [John Odigie OYEGUN]
All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Victor C. UMEH]
Democratic Peoples Party or DPP [Biodun OGUNBIYI]
Labor Party or LP [Alhai Abdulkadir ABDULSALAM]
Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Uche SECONDUS, acting]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Academic Staff Union for Universities or ASUU
Campaign for Democracy or CD
Civil Liberties Organization or CLO
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights or CDHR
Constitutional Right Project or CRP
Human Right Africa
National Association of Democratic Lawyers or NADL
National Association of Nigerian Students or NANS
Nigerian Bar Association or NBA
Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC
Nigerian Medical Association or NMA
Universal Defenders of Democracy or UDD
other: the press
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, D-8, ECOWAS, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Hakeem Toyin BALOGUN (since 27 August 2015)
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400
FAX: [1] (202) 362-6541
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James F. ENTWISTLE (since 26 November 2013)
embassy: Plot 1075 Diplomatic Drive, Central District Area, Abuja
mailing address: P. O. Box 5760, Garki, Abuja
telephone: [234] (9) 461-4000
FAX: [234] (9) 461-4171
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green; the color green represents the forests and abundant natural wealth of the country, white stands for peace and unity
National symbol(s):
eagle; national colors: green, white
National anthem:
name: "Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey"
lyrics/music: John A. ILECHUKWU, Eme Etim AKPAN, B. A. OGUNNAIKE, Sotu OMOIGUI and P. O. ADERIBIGBE/Benedict Elide ODIASE
note: adopted 1978; lyrics are a mixture of the five top entries in a national contest
NOTE: The information regarding Nigeria on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nigeria Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nigeria Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
- Main Index
- 2016 Index
- Country Ranks
- Definitions
- Nigeria Index 2016
- Nigeria Main Index
- Introduction
- History
- Geography
- Military
- Transnational Issues
- Photos
- Advertise Here
- Feedback
- Please bookmark this page (add it to your favorites).
- If you wish to link to this page, you can do so by referring to the URL address below this line.
https://allcountries.org/world_fact_book_2016/nigeria/nigeria_government.html
This page was last modified 27-Apr-16