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
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