Nigeria is a country in West Africa that was formerly under British colonial administration. Nigeria gained independence in 1960 and became a federal parliament with Nnamdi Azikiwe as Governor-General (1960-1963). The state became a republic in 1963 with Azikiwe becoming the first president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nigeria operates under a presidential democracy that is defined by separation of power, checks and balances, and federalism. Power is shared among the federal government, 36 states, and 774 local governmant areas, with each level of government having its own executive, judiciary, and legislature. Nigeria operates a multiparty system but dominated by two major parties- APC and PDP. The executive, president, governor and local government chairman, are directly elected by the people for a terms of two ywears and can serve a maximum of two terms.

The year 1999 marked a major turning point in Nigeria’s history. This period marked the end of long military dominance of 15 years and ushered in the beginning of the fourth republic. Also, the 1999 constitutuion (as amended) became the legal framework for Nigeria’s democratic governance till date. Several reforms have been introduced into the Nigerian Electoral Act to strenthen the Independent National Electoral Commission and reinforce electoral integrity. The most recent and the most progressive reform is the Electoral Act of 2022 that was signed by Muhammadu Buhari. This reform introduced the electronic transmission of results and legalized the use of technological devices.

Key political transitions since 1999: Olusegun Obasanjo was re-elected in 2003 for a second term; Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was elected in 2007, this was the first civilian-to-civilian transition in Nigeria; Goodluck Jonathan succeeded Yar’Adua in 2010 after his death; Muhammadu Buhari defeated an incumbent president for the first time and became president in 2015; Bola Ahmed Tinubu became president in 2023.