SYLLABUS

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Basic concepts in government
Forms of Government
Arms of Government
Arms and Structures of Government
Systems of Governance and Political ideologies
Constitution and Principles of Democratic Government
Processes of Legislation
Citizenship
The Electoral Process and Party Systems
Pressure Groups and Public Opinion
The Civil Service
Political Development in Nigeria
Public Corporation, Parastatals and Local Government
Nigeria and the International Community
International Organizations

SECTION A: ELEMENTS OF GOVERNMENT
1. DEFINITION AND SCOPE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER – GOVERNMENT
(i) Government as an institution of the state
(ii) Government as a process or the art of governing
(iii) Government as an academic field of study
2. SOME BASIC CONCEPTS:
(i) Power (ii) Authority (iii) State
(iv) Nation (v) Legitimacy (vi) Sovereignty
(vii) Democracy (viii) Political culture and political socialization
(ix) Communalism (x) Socialism (xi) Communism
(xii) Capitalism (xiii) Feudalism (xiv) Fascism
(xv) Totalitarianism (xvi) Nazism
3. TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GOVERNMENT:
(i) Unitary (b) Federal (iii) Presidential system
(iv) Parliamentary or Cabinet system (v) Confederal
(vi) Monarchy and Republicanism (vii) Military
4. CONSTITUTIONS:
(i) Definition and sources
(ii) Scope
(iii) Functions
(iv) Types
5. THE STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF GOVERNMENT:
(i) The Executive
(ii) The Legislature
(iii) The Judiciary
6. SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT:
(i) Rule of Law (ii) Fundamental Human Rights
(iii) Constitutionalism (iv) Separation of powers/Checks and Balances
(v) Representative government (vi) Political Participation
(vii) Centralization and Decentralization of Government
(viii) Delegated Legislation
7. STATUS, RIGHTS, DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE STATE CITIZENSHIP
8. POLITICAL PARTIES - Definition, organization, functions and types
9. PARTY SYSTEM - Types and characteristics
10. PRESSURE GROUPS - Definition, types, characteristics, mode of
operation and functions.
11. THE ELECTORAL PROCESS:
(i) a. Meaning of suffrage
b. History of the evolution of suffrage
c. Types of suffrage
d. Purposes of holding elections
(ii) Types of electoral systems – characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of electoral systems.
(iii) Organisation of elections – features of free and fair elections.
(iv) Electoral commission – The electoral commission and other officials – their functions, problems etc.
12. PUBLIC OPINION – Definition, formation, measurement and functions.
13. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION:
(a) CIVIL SERVICE
(i) Meaning, characteristics, functions and structure of civil service
(ii) Personnel Administration in the civil service – civil service commission – functions, relationship between the civil servants and political executives.
(b) PUBLIC CORPORATIONS:
(i) Definition, purposes and functions of public corporation
(ii) Structure and organization
(iii) Control – types of control, reasons for control
(iv) Problems of public corporations and solutions
(c) LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
(i) Meaning, purposes and functions; types of systems
(ii) Sources of revenue
(iii) Relationship with State/Federal government
(iv) Control – types of the federal/State government control of Local Governments
(iv) Problems of local government and suggested solutions.

SECTION B: POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA
AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. PRE-COLONIAL POLITICAL SYSTEMS IN NIGERIA:
(i) Hausa/Fulani
(a) The structural organization of the Emirate
(b) The role played by the Emir and his assistants in government
(ii) The Igbo
(a) The structural organization of the Igbo political system.
(b) The major political institutions and their role e.g.
Age-grades, Ama-ala, title holders, etc.
(iii) The Yoruba