JAMB Government 1983

C: The Head of State is the most powerful organ of government

In a parliamentary system, the head of government leads the executive and is accountable to parliament. The head of state normally has a distinct, largely ceremonial role.

B: private persons are permitted to undertake enterprises

Capitalism permits private ownership and enterprise, with production decisions substantially coordinated through markets. Central state ownership of all major resources describes a different economic model.

E: Disenfranchisement

Disenfranchisement means depriving someone of the right to vote. Enfranchisement is the opposite process: granting or extending voting rights.

D: two-chamber legislature

Bicameralism means that the legislature has two chambers or houses. It describes the structure of the whole legislature, not just its upper chamber.

B: independently and co-operatively

Separation of powers assigns distinct responsibilities to the branches while allowing checks and cooperation. It does not require hostile or completely isolated institutions.

D: interpret the laws

The judiciary interprets and applies laws in deciding disputes. Enacting legislation and implementing government policy belong primarily to the legislature and executive respectively.

C: Great Britain

Great Britain forms part of the United Kingdom, whose constitution is uncodified. Its constitutional rules are drawn from several written and unwritten sources rather than one comprehensive text.

B: law making

The primary function of the legislature is law-making. It may also scrutinize government and approve spending, but appointing a president or reassigning officials is not its defining task.

E: Bourgeoisie

In Marxist theory the bourgeoisie own and control the means of production. Workers who depend on selling labour power form the proletariat.

C: influencing governmental decisions

Pressure groups seek to influence governmental decisions in support of interests or causes. Political parties instead seek office and the opportunity to form a government.

A: an indirect election

An indirect election uses an intermediate body of representatives who vote on behalf of the original voters. Direct election instead allows voters to choose the final office-holder themselves.

A: by election

A by-election fills a seat that becomes vacant between general elections. It concerns the particular vacancy rather than renewing the whole legislature.

D: France

France has a unitary constitutional structure, while the other listed countries are federations. Decentralization within France does not itself create constitutionally sovereign constituent states.

C: it ensures the anonymity of each voter

A secret ballot conceals how an individual voted. This privacy helps voters make their own choices without intimidation or retaliation.

D: it gives the parties seats in proportion to their popular support

Proportional representation aims to allocate legislative seats in proportion to votes won. For example, a party with roughly one quarter of the vote should receive roughly one quarter of seats.

D: the ruling party is the only legal party

In a one-party state only one political party is legally permitted to hold and contest governmental power. Such a state is not necessarily communist.

E: devolution

Devolution transfers authority to a lower level of government with its own responsibilities. Delegation generally gives an agent tasks or powers while the delegating authority retains tighter control.

A: Farmers

Farmers describes an occupational category rather than a specific organized pressure group. A farmers association could be a pressure group when it organizes to influence policy.

E: Lord Lugard

Frederick Lugard was the first Governor-General of the amalgamated Nigeria in 1914. The office followed the joining of the Northern and Southern administrations.

D: House of Assembly

A Nigerian state's legislature is its House of Assembly. The National Assembly is the separate federal legislature, comprising the Senate and House of Representatives.

C: provides for a head of state who is also head of government

The 1979 Constitution combined the head-of-state and head-of-government roles in an executive president. Earlier parliamentary arrangements had separated those roles.

B: 1976

The landmark nationwide local-government reform under military government took place in 1976. It sought a more standardized local-government structure across the federation.

D: through newspapers

Nationalist newspapers publicized grievances and arguments against colonial rule. Educated Nigerian activists used the press to mobilize readers and debate political rights and independence.

B: Clifford Constitution

The Clifford Constitution introduced elective representation in 1922. The Nigerian National Democratic Party followed in 1923 to organize participation in the resulting elections.

E: Lagos

The founding ECOWAS treaty was signed in Lagos in 1975. It established a framework for cooperation and economic integration among West African states.

B: the Governor-General's office as the representative of the Queen was abolished

The 1963 republican constitution replaced the monarch and Governor-General with a Nigerian president as head of state. Nigeria retained a parliamentary executive headed by the prime minister.

B: five senators

Section 44 of the 1979 Constitution provided for five senators from each state. The question concerns that historical constitution, so a later constitutional allocation should not be substituted.

C: was negotiated by Nigerians

The Independence Constitution emerged from negotiations involving Nigerian political leaders and British authorities. It established independence under a parliamentary monarchy rather than republican or military government.

A: four years

The 1979 Constitution established a four-year presidential term, with elections for a further term governed by its provisions. It did not make the normal electoral cycle eight years or depend on a military handover.

C: law courts

Law courts protect civil liberties by adjudicating disputes and providing remedies for unlawful infringements. Electoral and administrative bodies have narrower functions and do not replace judicial enforcement.

D: provided for division of functions between the centre and component units

Federalism constitutionally divides governmental responsibilities between the centre and constituent units. The 1954 framework established this division in Nigeria rather than merely changing parliamentary membership.

D: UNO

The Economic Commission for Africa forms part of the United Nations system. Its regional economic-development mandate is separate from OPEC, NATO and ECOWAS.

A: Promotes unity in diversity

A federal constitution combines national unity with separate powers for constituent units. Its constitutional purpose is not to guarantee the dominance of one party, ethnic group or economic class.