Structure of Nigeria

Nigeria

Umaru Yar'Adua
Umaru Yar'Adua of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) won the presidency following the April 2007 elections which were condemned by local and foreign observers, who alleged widespread vote-rigging.

He had served as governor of the remote northern Katsina state since May 1999. A little-known figure in national politics, he was chosen by outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo as his successor.

He comes from a prominent political family. His father was a minister in the first government after independence and his late elder brother was an army general who served as deputy to President Olusegun Obasanjo when he was Nigeria's military ruler during the 1970s.

When he was elected governor of Katsina in 1999, he immediately declared his assets. In his bid for the presidency he promised to fight corruption.

Mr Yar'Adua's health has been the subject of media speculation and during the election campaign he travelled to Germany for treatment.

He was born in 1951 and was a chemistry teacher until he went into business, then politics, in the 1980s.

Mr Yar'Adua took over from Olusegun Obasanjo, whose election in 1999 came at the end of a period of military rule. Mr Obasanjo won a second term in 2003. A bid to keep him in office for a third term was blocked by parliament.

Mr Obasanjo began his first leadership stint in 1976 after the assassination of Brigadier Murtala Mohamed in a failed coup. In 1979 he earned the distinction of becoming Africa's first modern military leader to hand over power to civilian rule.

Political Structure
From Economist.com

Official name

Federal Republic of Nigeria

Form of state

Federal republic, comprising 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja)

Legal system

Based on English common law

National legislature

National Assembly, comprising the 109-seat Senate and the 360-seat House of Representatives; both are elected by universal suffrage for four-year terms

National elections

Most recent legislative election, April 12th 2007, most recent presidential election, April 19th 2007; Umaru Yar'Adua was elected to the presidency, while his party, the PDP, won a majority of seats in both houses of the National Assembly;

Head of state

President, elected by universal suffrage to serve a four-year term

President & commander-in-chief of the armed forces Umaru Yar'Adua

State government

State governors and state houses of assembly

National government

The Federal Executive Council, which is chaired by the president; appointed June 30th 1999

Main political parties

People’s Democratic Party (PDP); All Nigeria People’s Party (APP); Action Congress (AC); All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA); National Democratic Party (NDP); United Nigeria People’s Party (UNPP); currently 30 political parties are registered
Politics in Brief
Nigeria is still recovering from 15 years of corrupt military rule under General Sani Abacha, who pillaged the country until his death in 1998. In May 1999, the democratically elected Olusegun Obasanjo, a civilian albeit an ex-general, became president. He set about eradicating Mr Abacha’s legacy, clearing out top military brass and inquiring into human-rights abuses.
But Nigeria's problems seem endless. Corruption endures, electricity is spotty and the economy is overly dependent on the yo-yoing price of oil. Tax-dodging is rife and harsh penalties imposed by Islamic courts in predominantly Muslim states have sparked sectarian riots (though enthusiasm for Islamic law has waned). Ethnic violence in the oil-rich Niger delta has also cost many lives. Controversially re-elected in April 2003, Mr Obasanjo must push through some unpopular reforms to put Nigeria right.
There are now 30 parties
Although politics is dominated by the three large parties, around 30 political parties participated in the general election following the registration of 27 new parties by the INEC in 2002. The new parties, which cover a wide range of interests from labor