JAMB Government 1981

27 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

Practice selection: full-paper coverage has not been confirmed.

Question 3

The main role of pressure groups is to

  1. Oppose oppressive legislation
  2. protect the interest of the country against foreign power
  3. resist temptation of gifts made by multi-national companies to influence their political parties
  4. to influence their judgement
  5. influence legislation in order to benefit their members
Answer and explanation

E: influence legislation in order to benefit their members

Pressure groups seek to influence public decisions in ways that advance their members or causes. Influencing legislation is one central means of pursuing those interests.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 7

Under the United States Constitution

  1. Congress is supreme
  2. the Supreme Court is dominant
  3. the presidency is clearly superior in practice to the other two branches of government
  4. Black Americans enjoy preferential treatment to compensate for past injustices
  5. no branch of government can function without co-operating with the others
Answer and explanation

E: no branch of government can function without co-operating with the others

Separation of powers is combined with checks and balances in the United States. Legislative, executive and judicial responsibilities interact, preventing any one branch from exercising all national governing powers alone.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 8

The British constitution, by being unwritten

  1. Encourages the dominance of the Prime Minister
  2. gives room for the development of conventions
  3. makes the parliamentary system unworkable
  4. allows unquestionable parliamentary sovereignty
  5. enables the queen to do no wrong
Answer and explanation

B: gives room for the development of conventions

The British constitution includes conventions alongside statutes, common law and other sources. These accepted political practices can develop without being codified in a single constitutional document.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 9

Constitutions are useful documents because they

  1. suppress individual rights and liberties
  2. provide ammunition to different sides in ideological disputes
  3. reward the patriotic and punish traitors
  4. lay down broad guidelines for national political interaction
  5. highlight the procedures for the creation of new states
Answer and explanation

D: lay down broad guidelines for national political interaction

A constitution sets the broad framework for national political interaction, including institutions and their powers. It is not primarily a system for rewarding personal loyalty or conducting ideological disputes.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 11

The Nigerian electoral system gives voting rights to

  1. aliens
  2. Africans above the age of twenty-one
  3. children over twelve years old
  4. Nigerian citizens who are 18 years old and above
  5. Friends of Nigerian
Answer and explanation

D: Nigerian citizens who are 18 years old and above

Nigerian voting eligibility includes citizenship and a minimum age of eighteen, subject to registration and other legal requirements. Age alone does not automatically complete the registration process.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 12

The inalienable rights of the citizens are best protected through

  1. mass participation in political processes
  2. an independent and fearless judiciary
  3. a cabinet system of government
  4. a good head of state
  5. a written constitution
Answer and explanation

B: an independent and fearless judiciary

An independent judiciary can enforce rights and provide remedies against unlawful interference. A written promise alone is insufficient if courts cannot apply it impartially.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 14

The main function of the National Assembly is to

  1. fix salaries for all the state governors
  2. make laws for the country
  3. pass motions on the welfare of the legislators
  4. direct public attention to the excesses of public officials
  5. condemn the south African government for its policy of apartheid
Answer and explanation

B: make laws for the country

The National Assembly is Nigerias federal legislature and makes laws within its constitutional competence. Motions and scrutiny are additional activities supporting that role.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 17

Constitutions have been classified as rigid or as flexible according to

  1. whether they were written or unwritten
  2. whether they were popular or unpopular
  3. the relative ease or difficulty of the writing process
  4. the relative ease or difficulty of the amending process
  5. all of the above
Answer and explanation

D: the relative ease or difficulty of the amending process

The classification concerns how easy or difficult it is to amend the constitution. Whether a constitution is popular or written is a different issue.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 19

Lord Lugard is widely regarded as

  1. The most imaginative governor in the British colonies
  2. The originator of the durbar ceremony in Northern Nigeria
  3. The best friend which Southern Nigerian nationalist leaders ever had
  4. the father of indirect rule
  5. an anti-imperialist
Answer and explanation

D: the father of indirect rule

Lugard is closely associated with the development of indirect rule in British colonial Nigeria. The policy administered through existing local authorities under colonial supervision.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 21

Nationalism in West Africa aimed at

  1. working out an alliance with the colonial regimes
  2. bringing all the educated elite together
  3. the attainment of political independence from Britain
  4. the attainment of political independence from the colonizers
  5. founding an economic union like ECOWAS
Answer and explanation

D: the attainment of political independence from the colonizers

Anti-colonial nationalism in West Africa sought independence from colonial rulers. Britain was only one of the colonial powers in the region, so the broader description is appropriate.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 24

One important aspect of the Lyttleton Constitution was the

  1. abolition of the regional Houses of Assembly
  2. granting of greater regional autonomy
  3. declaration that Nigeria would be independent in 1960
  4. enormous powers given to the colonial governors
  5. creation of the post of a Federal Prime Minister
Answer and explanation

B: granting of greater regional autonomy

The Lyttleton Constitution strengthened regional autonomy within a federal structure in 1954. This constitutional change preceded the later creation of the federal prime minister’s office.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 27

The four British colonial territories in West Africa were

  1. Ivory Coast, Gambia, Nigeria and Senegal
  2. Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone
  3. Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria and Gambia
  4. Senegal, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana
  5. Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Senegal
Answer and explanation

B: Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone

Britain's four main West African colonial territories were Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and the Gambia. The Gold Coast became independent Ghana in 1957.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 30

The 1958 Constitutional Conferences responded to the fears of minorities by recommending the

  1. creation of the Mid-Western Region
  2. Formation of a national government
  3. regionalization of the public service
  4. entrenchment of fundamental human rights
  5. creation of the office of inspector-General of Police
Answer and explanation

D: entrenchment of fundamental human rights

Constitutional protection of fundamental rights was intended to help safeguard minorities against discrimination and domination. It offered protections that did not depend solely on creating additional regions.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 33

Under Nigeria's 1979 Constitution, a citizen seeking membership of the House of Representatives had to have attained the age of

  1. 21
  2. 18
  3. 30
  4. 54
  5. 25
Answer and explanation

C: 30

The 1979 Constitution set thirty as the minimum age for the House of Representatives. This is a historical qualification and should not be confused with later constitutional amendments.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 35

Where is the Headquarters of the fund of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)?

  1. Lagos
  2. Accra
  3. Cotonou
  4. Abidjan
  5. Lomé
Answer and explanation

E: Lomé

The ECOWAS Fund had its headquarters in Lomé, Togo. It was the development-finance institution that later became the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 36

The President of Nigeria

  1. has a tenure of seven years
  2. has to be elected every four years
  3. has a tenure of five years
  4. cannot seek re-election
  5. is elected for life
Answer and explanation

B: has to be elected every four years

Nigeria's presidential term is four years. A president seeking a further elected term must face another election, and the constitutional limit prevents indefinite successive reelection.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 37

President Shehu Shagari was elected

  1. by the Election Tribunal
  2. By the supreme Court
  3. on the first ballot
  4. by the federal Electoral Commission
  5. by the National Assembly
Answer and explanation

C: on the first ballot

Shehu Shagari won the 1979 presidential election on the first ballot. The subsequent judicial dispute concerned the electoral threshold; a court ruling did not itself elect him to office.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 38

The Organization of African Unity was established for the main purpose of

  1. opposing imperialism in all its forms and manifestations
  2. establishing an African High Command
  3. Protecting the human rights of all Africans wherever they may live
  4. creating an African Common Market
  5. encouraging cooperation and unity among African States
Answer and explanation

E: encouraging cooperation and unity among African States

The OAU sought to promote unity and cooperation among African states. Opposition to colonialism was also an important objective within this broader continental organization.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 40

The headquarters of registered political parties in Nigeria must be located in

  1. the federal capital
  2. the state where most of their supporters come from
  3. any state capital
  4. the Northern and Southern parts of Nigeria
  5. none of the above
Answer and explanation

A: the federal capital

The constitutional rule locates a registered political party's headquarters in the federal capital. A party's strongest regional support base does not determine the required national headquarters location.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 41

The head of the Judiciary in every state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is called

  1. Honourable Chief Justice
  2. Head of Judicial Service
  3. Grand Khadi
  4. President Customary Court of Appeal
  5. Chief Judge
Answer and explanation

E: Chief Judge

The head of a Nigerian state's judiciary is its Chief Judge. The Chief Justice heads the national judiciary, while other court leaders have more specific jurisdictions.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 42

With the adoption of presidential government, Nigeria ceased to

  1. have a representative government
  2. be a, member of the Commonwealth
  3. have different persons as Head of State and Government
  4. operate a bicameral legislature
  5. operate the principle of separation of powers
Answer and explanation

C: have different persons as Head of State and Government

Nigeria's presidential system combines the roles of head of state and head of government in the president. Under the earlier parliamentary system, those roles were held by different people.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 43

Public corporations are set up to

  1. make profits
  2. compete with the private sector
  3. cater for those businesses that cannot be left entirely to private enterprise
  4. get board appointments for politicians
  5. enhance the prestige of the government
Answer and explanation

C: cater for those businesses that cannot be left entirely to private enterprise

Public corporations can provide strategic or essential activities that government considers unsuitable to leave entirely to private enterprise. Public-service obligations distinguish this purpose from merely rewarding political appointees.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 44

In 1981, the Commonwealth was an organization

  1. of all states formerly in the British Empire
  2. of most of the states in the defunct British Empire
  3. of all English-speaking countries of the world
  4. of only Asian and African countries
  5. which effectively coordinates the policies of its members
Answer and explanation

B: of most of the states in the defunct British Empire

Most Commonwealth members in 1981 had formerly belonged to the British Empire. Membership was voluntary, did not include every former colony and did not include all English-speaking countries.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 45

The highest legislative body in Nigeria is the

  1. National Council of States
  2. State Assembly
  3. House of Representatives
  4. Senate
  5. National Assembly
Answer and explanation

E: National Assembly

The National Assembly is the federal legislature and consists of the Senate and House of Representatives. Neither chamber alone constitutes the entire National Assembly.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 47

In 1964, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens and the Action Group formed the

  1. Coalition Government
  2. Nigerian Advance Party
  3. Nigerian National Alliance
  4. United Progressive Grand Alliance
  5. National Emergency Committee
Answer and explanation

D: United Progressive Grand Alliance

The NCNC and Action Group were principal partners in the United Progressive Grand Alliance for the 1964 election. The Nigerian National Alliance was the opposing coalition.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 48

The local government reforms of 1976 in Nigeria were designed to

  1. decentralize authority
  2. increase political socialization
  3. enlist grassroot support
  4. achieve even development
  5. all of the above
Answer and explanation

E: all of the above

The 1976 reforms aimed to bring administration closer to communities, strengthen participation and support local development. Decentralization and grassroots involvement were complementary goals rather than separate alternatives.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Question 49

The use of the veto in the Security Council is

  1. limited only to permanent members
  2. the prerogative of all its members
  3. the exclusive right of the two superpowers the U.S.S.R. and the U.S
  4. on a rotational basis
  5. all of the above
Answer and explanation

A: limited only to permanent members

Only permanent Security Council members possess the veto over substantive decisions. Elected members vote on Council business but do not receive a rotating veto.

AI-reviewed · source checked

Plan your study weekAll Government years