JAMB Government 1990

25 reviewed questions with answers and explanations.

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Question 2

The exercise of political power involves

  1. winning elections
  2. using the police
  3. deciding cases
  4. Allocating values
Answer and explanation

D: Allocating values

Political power involves making authoritative decisions about how values and resources are distributed in society. Allocating values captures that general function beyond particular acts such as an election.

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Question 6

The second ballot is based on the principle that a successful candidate must obtain

  1. absolute majority
  2. simple majority
  3. forty percent of the votes
  4. fifty percent of the votes
Answer and explanation

A: absolute majority

A second ballot is used when the required absolute majority is not achieved in the first round. An absolute majority means more than half of the valid votes.

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Question 7

Which of the following is the least democratic selection process?

  1. First past the post system
  2. Proportional representation
  3. Indirect Election
  4. Co-option
Answer and explanation

D: Co-option

Co-option fills a position through selection by existing members rather than by voters. It therefore provides less direct electoral accountability than the listed electoral methods.

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Question 8

An indispensable aspect of the constitution of a democratic state is

  1. press censorship
  2. presidentialism
  3. fundamental human rights
  4. socialism ideology
Answer and explanation

C: fundamental human rights

Democratic constitutional government protects fundamental human rights, including freedoms needed for political participation. Democracy can operate without presidentialism or a socialist economic system.

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Question 11

The principle of separation of powers is fundamental to the

  1. parliamentary system
  2. presidential system
  3. totalitarian system
  4. federal system
Answer and explanation

B: presidential system

The presidential model separates the executive from the legislature and assigns distinct institutional powers. Parliamentary government instead normally fuses executive leadership with membership of parliament.

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Question 14

The rule of law implies that

  1. judges interpret the law
  2. lawyers interpret the law
  3. everyone is subject to the law
  4. the legislature makes the law
Answer and explanation

C: everyone is subject to the law

The rule of law subjects everyone to legal rules, including government officials. No class of people is generally above the law because of office or status.

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Question 16

The notion of ‘carpet-crossing’ in a parliamentary democracy involves

  1. crossing from the Lower house to the Upper house
  2. changing party allegiance after election
  3. opposing party discipline in parliament
  4. resigning from parliament.
Answer and explanation

B: changing party allegiance after election

Carpet-crossing means changing political-party allegiance after election. It does not mean moving physically between the chambers of the legislature.

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Question 17

In a parliament, the most extensive amendment to a bill takes place at the

  1. first reading
  2. committee stage
  3. second reading
  4. final stage
Answer and explanation

B: committee stage

Committee stage examines a bill clause by clause and considers detailed amendments. Second reading concentrates principally on the overall purpose and principles of the bill.

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Question 20

Habeas corpus is an essential process for safeguarding the right of citizens to

  1. vote
  2. personal liberty
  3. own property
  4. freedom of speech
Answer and explanation

B: personal liberty

Habeas corpus enables a court to review whether a person is lawfully detained. It protects personal liberty by providing a remedy against unlawful confinement.

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Question 21

The most effective way of monitoring public opinion is

  1. by examining the questions asked by journalists
  2. by the frequency of the press releases of pressure groups
  3. by referendum
  4. through opinion poll.
Answer and explanation

D: through opinion poll.

Properly designed opinion polls can measure public attitudes repeatedly using representative samples. Journalists’ questions and the number of press releases do not reliably show how opinion is distributed.

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Question 22

In a true democracy, franchise can be limited by

  1. sex
  2. education
  3. age
  4. wealth
Answer and explanation

C: age

Democracies commonly set a minimum voting age while rejecting voting qualifications based on sex or wealth. The age threshold is specified by the relevant electoral law.

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Question 23

Liberalism is a philosophy underlying

  1. socialism
  2. capitalism
  3. feudalism
  4. Nazism
Answer and explanation

B: capitalism

Classical liberalism emphasizes individual freedom, private property and voluntary exchange. These ideas helped underpin capitalist economic arrangements.

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Question 29

Under military government in Nigeria, state enactments were known as

  1. Laws
  2. Decrees
  3. Edicts
  4. promulgations
Answer and explanation

C: Edicts

Military state governments issued edicts, while the federal military government issued decrees. This terminology distinguishes the level of the military law-making authority.

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Question 30

The military normally belongs to the arm(s) of government known as

  1. the legislature and the judiciary
  2. the executive
  3. the judiciary
  4. the judiciary and the executive
Answer and explanation

B: the executive

The armed forces are part of the executive apparatus of the state. Their defence functions are distinct from the legislature's law-making and the judiciary's adjudication.

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Question 31

The first political party in Nigeria was the

  1. Nigerian National Democratic Party
  2. Nigeria Youth Movement
  3. Action Group
  4. National Councils of Nigeria and the Cameroons
Answer and explanation

A: Nigerian National Democratic Party

The Nigerian National Democratic Party was founded in 1923 under Herbert Macaulay's leadership. It preceded the Nigerian Youth Movement, Action Group and NCNC.

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Question 33

The legislative organ of the Federal Government in the first republic was the

  1. parliament
  2. judiciary
  3. legislature Council
  4. national assembly
Answer and explanation

A: parliament

The First Republic's federal legislature was Parliament, with a Senate and House of Representatives. The judiciary was a separate branch responsible for deciding legal cases.

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Question 35

Which of the following was the LEAST important rationale for Nigerian federalism?

  1. The vastness of the territory and the size of the population
  2. Diverse cultures
  3. Economic benefits
  4. Bicameral legislature
Answer and explanation

D: Bicameral legislature

A bicameral legislature is an institutional design rather than a fundamental social or geographical reason for adopting federalism. Territory, diversity and shared economic interests can motivate the arrangement.

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Question 37

The two nationalist leaders who led the tour of Northern Nigeria in 1946 to campaign against the Richards Constitution were

  1. Ahmadu Bello and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
  2. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo
  3. Ahmadu Bello and Samuel Ladoke Akintola
  4. Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe
Answer and explanation

D: Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe

Herbert Macaulay and Nnamdi Azikiwe led the NCNC campaign tour against the Richards Constitution in 1946. The campaign sought public support for opposition to the constitutional settlement.

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Question 39

The motion of self-government was moved in 1953 by the

  1. Northern People’s Congress
  2. Action Group
  3. National Council of Nigerian and the Cameroon
  4. Northern Elements Progressive Union
Answer and explanation

B: Action Group

Anthony Enahoro moved the 1953 self-government motion as an Action Group member. The motion called for independence in 1956 and became an important event in constitutional debate.

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Question 41

In which of the following states was the governor impeached during the second republic?

  1. Borno
  2. Bendel
  3. Kaduna
  4. Anambra
Answer and explanation

C: Kaduna

Balarabe Musa, governor of Kaduna State, was impeached in 1981 during the Second Republic. The question refers to that gubernatorial impeachment rather than a military removal.

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Question 43

The Economic Commission for Africa is an agency of

  1. The OAU
  2. ECOWAS
  3. The E.E.C.
  4. The U.N.O.
Answer and explanation

D: The U.N.O.

The Economic Commission for Africa belongs to the United Nations system and was established by ECOSOC. It is separate from ECOWAS and the former OAU.

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Question 45

The headquarters of the OAU Liberation Committee was located in

  1. Lagos
  2. Addis Ababa
  3. Dar-es-Salam
  4. Harare
Answer and explanation

C: Dar-es-Salam

The OAU Liberation Committee operated from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This was separate from the OAU's main organizational headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Question 46

Which of the following groups advocated for political union of Africa States?

  1. The Congo Group
  2. The Brazzaville Group
  3. The Casablanca Group
  4. Th e Monrovia Group
Answer and explanation

C: The Casablanca Group

The Casablanca group advocated a stronger political union of African states. The Monrovia group generally preferred cooperation that preserved the sovereignty of individual countries.

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Question 48

The first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement was held in

  1. Belgrade
  2. Bandung
  3. Havana
  4. Harare
Answer and explanation

A: Belgrade

The first Non-Aligned Movement summit took place in Belgrade in September 1961. Bandung's 1955 Asian-African Conference helped prepare the ground but was not that first NAM summit.

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Question 49

In 1990, which of these countries was not a Commonwealth member?

  1. Papua New Guinea
  2. Sri Lanka
  3. Grenada
  4. Rwanda
Answer and explanation

D: Rwanda

Rwanda was not a Commonwealth member in 1990; it joined in 2009. The other three countries had joined before 1990, making the date essential to this comparison.

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