WASSCE GOVERNMENT MAY/JUNE 2001 (SSCE WAEC MAY/JUNE 2001 GOVERNMENT)
1. The first agent of political socialization is
A. school
B. mass media
C. community
D. family
2. Baron Montesquieu was noted for the theory of
A. the rule of law
B. delegated legislation
C. separation of powers
D. equality before the law
3. Political sovereignty in the state resides with the
A. executive
B. people
C. national assembly
D. international community
4. A political system in which there is only one source of authority in a state
A. confederal
B. parliamentary
C. presidential
D. Unitary
5. Which of the following best describe an absolute monarchy?
A. He wields the supreme power in a state
B. is elected by an electoral college
C. is elected by the electorate
D. had fixed tenure of office
6. The modern idea of democracy includes all the following except
A. unlimited freedom
B. universal suffrage
C. periodic elections
D. equality before the law
7. Which of the following is a method of acquiring political power in a democracy?
A. heredity
B. election
C. imposition
D. selection
8. One of the arguments against delegated legislation is that it
A. encroaches on the functions of the judiciary
B. is against the principle of separation of power
C. promotes limited government
D. wastes the time of the legislature
9. A practice by which semi-autonomous units are given part of governmental powers and functions is known as
A. deconcentration
B. distribution
C. devolution
D. decongestion
10. A disadvantage of centralized administration is that
A. wide powers are allocated to sub-national bodies
B. the influence of the administration is easily felt by the local people
C. local people are not easily exploited by the sub-national agents
D. sub-national bodies are denied initiative in decision making
11. Judicial independence means that the courts are independent of the
A. Civil Service and the Bar
B. Executive and the Legislature
C. Legislature and the Ministry of Justice
D. Executive and the Military
12. A citizen can participate loyalty to his nation by
A. participating in sports
B. supporting political parties
C. singing the national anthem when required
D. lobbying for ministrial appointment
13. A citizen can participate in the politics of his country by
A. acquiring university education
B. attending international meetings
C. contesting for an elective post
D. being a good sportsman
14. The office of the ombudsman is created to acts as
A. spy for government
B. an agency to redress maladministration
C. regulator of government activities
D. sole administrator of public corporations
15. A constitution that has special rules for its amendment is said to be
A. written
B. federal
C. confederal
D. rigid
16. Which of following statements best describes an unwritten constitution?
A. The legislature is always unicameral
B. The source of the constitution is supreme court verdicts
C. There are no limitations on the powers of government
D. The body of rules and laws cannot all be found in a single document
17. The process by which people vote to elect their representatives is called
A. electoral system
B. plebiscite
C. electoral college
D. franchise
18. Apart from making laws, the legislature has the important function of
A. implementing executive decisions
B. advising the judiciary
C. appointing the civil servants
D. checking the executive powers
19. Which of the following is a demerit of bicameral legislature?
A. The scope for political participation is limited
B. Passing of bills into acts is delayed
C. No safeguard for the minority groups
D. There is tendency for despotic rule
20. One from of delegated legislation is
A. case laws
B. statutory instruments
C. conventions
D. man-made laws
21. A system in which one level of government exercises an overwhelming authority over others can best be described as
A. confederal
B. parliamentary
C. unitary
D. presidential
22. A major weakness of a one - party system is that it
A. encourages the emergence of dictators
B. ensures freedom of political choice
C. negates the principle of one man one vote
D. requires a bicameral legislature
23. A multi-party system often leads to the formation of
A. Coalition government
B. dual government
C. dictatorial government
D. monarchical government
24. Under a two - party system, the opposition party is as important as the ruling party because it
A. has equal number of supporters as the ruling party
B. is as strong as the ruling party
C. may force the government to resign
D. is the alternative government
25. The dissolution of parliament is usually following by a
A. general election
B. referendum
C. plebiscite
D. resolution
26. A major function of public corporation is to
A. construct roads and bridges
B. compete with private companies
C. provide certain essential service for all
D. collect revenue for government
27. Carpet-crossing is a characteristic of
A. monarchical system
B. Cabinet system
C. presidential system
D. unitary system
28. A minister controls public corporations by
A. auditing the accounts of the corporations himself
B. giving general policy directives
C. criticizing the corporations through the mass media
D. undertaking day-to-day administration of the corporations
29. When there is a second chamber in a federal state, it
A. makes up for the imbalance in the representation in the lower house
B. ensures that the judicary is independent of the executive
C. reduces the power of the electorate
D. alone makes laws for the country
30. Countries adopt federal system of government because of
A. uneven development
B. adoption of a state religion
C. the fear of domination of minorities
D. the availability of limited resources
31. The three main contesting issues about revenue allocation in Nigeria are
A. oil, cocoa, and groundnut
B. oil, minority and majority
C. ethnicity, corruption
D. derivation, population and even development
32. In Nigeria, the concurrent list of powers belongs to the
A. local authority only
B. executive, the judiciary and the legisture
C. federal and state governments
D. state and local government
33. Rule by decrees is associated with
A. military government
B. totalitarian governments
C. democratic system
D. delegated legislation
34. Which of the following Nigerian constitutions brought the Northern Provinces into the Legislative Council?
A. The 1979 Constitution
B. The Richards Constitution
C. The Clifford Constitution
D. The Lyttletion Constitution
35. Under the Independence Constitutions of Nigeria, the Court of Appeal was the
A. West African Court of Appeal
B. Sharia Court of Nigeria
C. Privy Council in Britain
D. Supreme Millitary Council
36. The Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) collapsed because of
A. leadership struggle
B. the ban on the press by the government
C. high-handedness by the leadership
D. corruption and nepotism
37. A major reason why the warrant chiefs were rejected in Eastern Nigeria was that
A. the chiefs were illiterates
B. they were no indigenes
C. they usurped the positions of the nationalists
D. the system was not customary
38. After the annexation in 1861, Lagos became a
A. trust territory
B. crown colony
C. protectorate
D. consular territory
39. In the Hause/Fulani traditional political administration, the Madawaki was the
A. chief judge
B. chief tax collector
C. head of fishermen
D. commander of the calvary
40. The chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) during the Second republic in Nigeria was
A. Aminu Kano
B. Joseph Wayas
C. Ume Ezeoke
D. Obafemi Awolowo
41. Among the Yoruba, the presentation of parrot egg to the Oba indicates
A. outright rejection by his subjects
B. acceptance of royal order
C. obeisance and homage to the king
D. prayer for long life for the king
42. One important effect of the 1922 Constitution of Nigeria was the
A. formation of political parties
B. establishment of university in West Africa
C. fusion of both the legislative and executive powers
D. establishment of a military government
43. During the 1964 federal elections in Nigeria, there was total boycott of voting in
A. Lagos
B. the Northern Region
C. the Eastern Region
D. the Mid-Western Region
44. In pre-colonial West Africa no centralized political administration existed among the
A. Hausa
B. Igbo
C. Yoruba
D. Kanuri
45. Under the Nigeria Constitution of 1979 representation in the lower House was based on
A. equality of states
B. the geographical size of each state
C. the population of each state
D. number of local government in each state
46. Who among the following was dismissed from the Action Group at the Jos Congress of February, 1962?
A. Anthony Enahoro
B. Ladoke Akintola
C. Dauda Adegbenro
D. Adesoji Aderemi
47. If the receiving state does not approve a diplomat on account of his past activities, he is considered
A. a dozen of diploma corps
B. an extra-ordinary ambassador
C. an ambassador plenipotentiary
D. a persona non grata
48. Nigeria's ideal of Africa as the centerpiece of her foreign policy includes all the following except
A. support for Apartheid policy in South Africa
B. promotion of African unity
C. creation of more Nigerian missions in Africa
D. Settling of disputes in Africa
49. The organ of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) responsible for the appointment of the Secretary-General is the
A. Appointment Commission
B. Liberation Committee
C. Assembly of the Heads of State and Goverments
D. Economic and Social Commission
50. Which of the following is an organ of the United Nations Organization (UNO)?
A. Assembly of Heads of State
B. International Labour Organization
C. Council of Ministers
D. The Security Council