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Country name:
conventional long form: Federal Republic of Nigeria
conventional short form: Nigeria
Government type:
republic transitioning from military to civilian rule
Capital:
Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially
transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government
offices have now made the move to Abuja
Administrative divisions:
36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital
Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa,
Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu,
Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi,
Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau,
Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara
Independence:
1 October 1960 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day (National Day), 1 October (1960)
Constitution:
new constitution adopted May 1999
Legal system:
based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in
some northern states), and traditional law
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
| chief of state |
President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head
of government |
| head of government |
President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note
- the president is both the chief of state and head
of government |
| cabinet |
Federal Executive Council |
| elections |
president is elected by popular vote for no more than
two four-year terms; election last held 19 April 2003
(next to be held NA 2007) |
| election results |
Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote
- Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 61.9%, Muhammadu BUHARI (ANPP)
31.2%, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu OJUKWU (APGA) 3.3%, other
3.6% |
Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (107 seats,
three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
and House of Representatives (346 seats, members elected
by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
| elections |
Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held
NA 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April
2003 (next to be held NA 2007) |
| election results |
Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.6%, ANPP
27.9%, AD 9.7%;
seats by party - PDP 73, ANPP 28, AD 6;
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party
- PDP 54.5%, ANPP 27.4%, AD 9.3%, other 8.8%; seats
by party - PDP 213, ANPP 95, AD 31, other 7;
note - two constituencies are not reported |
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President); Federal
Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government
on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee)
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Democracy or AD [Alhaji Adamu ABDULKADIR];
All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Don ETIEBET];
All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [Chekwas OKORIE];
National Democratic Party or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI];
Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Audu OGBEH];
Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe MUSA];
Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE];
United Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [Saleh JAMBO]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Nigerian Labor Congress or NLC [Adams OSHIOMOLE]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH,
UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
| chief of mission |
Ambassador Jibril Muhammad AMINU |
| consulate(s) general |
Atlanta and New York |
| FAX |
[1] (202) 775-1385 |
| telephone |
[1] (202) 986-8400 |
| chancery |
3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
| chief of mission |
Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER |
| embassy |
7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja |
| mailing address |
P. O. Box 554, Lagos |
| telephone |
[234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205 |
| FAX |
[234] (9) 523-0353 |
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white,
and green
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