WASSCE GOVERNMENT MAY/JUNE 2000 (SSCE WAEC MAY/JUNE 2000 GOVERNMENT)
1. Government as an institution of a state can best be defined as a body that
A. recruits and trains political leaders
B. Settles disputes and interprets laws for the state
C. legislate executes and interprets laws for the state
2. Political authority is the
A. legitimate right to exercise political power
B. ability to control behaviour
C. right to participate in political campaigns
D. right to form political parties
3. The rule of law refers to the principle of
A. legality and impartiality
B. the supreme power of rulers
C. the immunity of judges from legal actions
D. the orderly execution of government policies
4. Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right enjoyed by citizens but it may be limited if
A. loyalty is not shown to the ruling party
B. it exposes the wrong-doings of the government
C. it endangers the security of the state
D. it is used to cause embarrassment to the judiciary
5. Which of the following is an obligation of a citizen?
A. Attending political rallies
B. Taking part is Independence Day celebrations
C. Contesting elections
D. Paying respect to the national flag
6. The extent to which the citizens regard the institutions, officials and activities of government as right and acceptable is known as
A. power
B. legitimacy
C. influence
D. authority
7. Diplomatic immunity is a limitation to
A. the theory of separation of powers
B. principles of checks and balances
C. parliamentary supremacy
D. the rule of law
8. Federal state is always expensive to run because
A. every parliamentarian wanted to become rich
B. government departments are duplicated
C. judges are highly paid from the consolidated fund
D. maintenance of the arm involves high expenditure
9. In which of the following party system are all shades of opinions and interests adequately represented?
A. Zero-party
B. One-party
C. Two-party
D. Multi-party
10.Veto power in a presidential system lies with the
A. Attorney-General
B. Chief of Army Staff
C. Executives President
D. Prime Minister
11. Which of the following is the lowest class of people in the hierarchy of feudal system?
A. Nobles
B. Serfs
C. Lords
D. Manor
12. Mussolini's fascism and Hitler's Nazism are good examples of
A. anarchy
B. feudalism
C. Totalitarianism
D. oligarchy
13. Which of the following is the supreme in a federal system?
A. Judiciary.
B. Legislature
C. Constitution
D. Executive
14. An order directing a detainee to be brought before the court is called
A. habeas corpus
B. an appearance
C. an injunction
D. a referendum
15Which of the following is a feature of an elite party?
A. Members are recruited from the working class
B. The leadership is composed of aristocrats and wealth merchants
C. it usually consists of existing associations, clubs and trade unions
D. its leadership has certain techniques which attract supporters
16. An undesirable feature of capitalism is
A. exploitation
B. market economy
C. profit motive
D. free competition
17. The system of voting on behalf of another person is known as
A. voting by lot
B. casting votes
C. voting by proxy
D. preference voting
18. Authoritarianism is least inherent in
A. feudalism
B. fascism
C. democracy
D. monarchy
19. In which of the following systems of government are ceremonial and executive powers usually fused?
A. Parliamentary
B. Presidential
C. Collegial
D. Confederal
20. The programme of a political party is known as its
A. constitution
B. document
C. manifesto
D. propaganda
21. Which of the following is a source of a country's constitution?
A. Mandamus
B. Judicial precedents
C. injunctions
D. political decisions
22. The acquisition of political power through hereditary means is a feature of
A. communalism
B. capitalism
C. oligarchy
D. monarchy
23. Which of the following factors limits the expression of public opinion?
A. The type of government in a state
B. The establishment of private media organizations
C. The high literacy rate of the citizens
D. Religious belief of the citizenry
24. If the federal government and the unit government are to preserve their autonomy, the
A. federal government must be supreme
B. unit government must be supreme
C. Judiciary must be supreme
D. constitution must be supreme
25. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the central and the component government in a federation?
A. the central government collect revenue for component governments
B. the central and component governments have equal powers
C. The central government is weaker than the component governments
D. The central government legislates for the component
26. The administrative head of a public corporation in Nigeria is the
A. Managing Director
B. Secretary
C. Board of Directors
D. Chairman
27. The appointment, promotion and discipline of civil servants are the responsibility of the
A. Civil Service Union
B. Judicial Service Commission
C. Civil Service Commission
D. Electoral Commission
28. Red tapism in the civil service refers to
A. the use of red tapes on legal documents
B. slowness of action
C. the co-operation between civil servants and politicians
D. the politicization of the civil service
29. The grant of the right to vote is called
A. enfranchisement
B. disqualification
C. prohibition
D. participation
30. Which of the following factors may work against a representative system of government?
A. High literacy of the electorate
B. the introduction of universal adult suffrage
C. independent electoral commission
D. Rigging of elections
31. Which of the following factors may work against a representative system of government?
A. High literacy of the electorate
B. the introduction of universal adult suffrage
C. independent electoral commission
D. Rigging of elections
32. The powers allocated to the central government in a federation are contained in the
A. central legislative list
B. exclusive legislative list
C. residual legislative list
D. concurrent legislative list
33. Which of the following factors may work against a representative system of government?
A. High literacy of the electorate
B. the introduction of universal adult suffrage
C. independent electoral commission
D. Rigging of elections
34. The Nigerian federal legislature is called the
A. Senate
B. Congress
C. National Assembly
D. House of Representatives
35. Nigeria's first constitution was the
A. Lyttleton Constitution
B. Clifford Constitution
C. Macpherson Constitution
D. Independence Constitution
36. The Nigerian Macpherson Constitution of 1951 was significant for
A. the introduction of Electoral College
B. providing for the office of the Prime Minister
C. the creation of state s
D. establishing the Supreme Court
37. The concept of regionalism in Nigeria was first introduced by the
A. Independence Constitution
B. Macpherson Constitution
C. Richard Constitution
D. Lyttleton Constitution
38. Immediately after the Nigerian civil war, Gowon's regime embarked on
A. rejuvenation, resettlement and reconstruction
B. reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction
C. rebuilding, rejuvenation and rehabilitation
D. rehabilitation, renaissance and repression
39. Which of the following military regimes in Nigeria played a prominent role in the liberation of colonized African States?
A. Aguiyi Ironsi
B. Murtala/Obasanjo
C. Muhammadu Buhari
D. Ibrahim Babangida
40. Traditional rulers appointed by the British to implement Indirect Rule in Easter Nigeria were called
A. palace chiefs
B. village chiefs
C. warrant chiefs
D. crown chiefs
41. The bill introduced by a member of the legislature is known as
A. a private member's bill
B. an executive bill
C. a state bill
D. a political party's bill
42. In the federation of Nigeria, states are equally represented in the
A. Senate
B. House of Representatives
C. Judiciary
D. National Population Commission
43. In pre-colonial Igboland, administration meetings were presided over by the
A. Mazi
B. Ogbuefi
C. Ozo title holder
D. Okpara
44. Checks and balances was a feature of pre-colonial political administration of the
A. Hausa
B. Yoruba
C. Igbo
D. Fulani
45. Which of the following group had the best egalitarian traditional political system ?
A. Hausa/ Fulani
B. Yoruba
C. Igbo
D. Edo
46. In the pre-colonial Hausa/Fulani system, the appointment of an Emir in the Caliphate was approved by the
A. Sarduna of Sokoto and Alkali
B. Galadima and the Waziri
C. Shehu of Borno and the Galadima
D. Sultan of Sokoto and Emir of Gwandu
47. The French policy of Assimilation in West Africa was a form of
A. Indirect Rule
B. Direct Rule
C. Democratic Rule
D. Monarchy
48. One of the problems facing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is that
A. member states do not attend meetings regularly
B. member’s states do not have a common currency
C. some member states want to contribute larger funds to the community
D. It is a rival to the Organization of African Unity
49. The world organization which existed before the United Nations Organization was the
A. League of Nations
B. European Economic Community
C. Organization of African Unity
D. Commonwealth of Nations
50. Which of the following bodies is the most representative organ of the United Nations Organization (UNO)?
A. The Economic and Social Council
B. The Trusteeship Council
C. The Security Council
D. The General Assembly