Fourth Nigerian Republic

Last updated

The Fourth Republic is the current republican government of Nigeria. Since 1999, it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Second Republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple ministries which made policy planning difficult.[ citation needed ] Nigeria adopted the constitution of the Fourth Republic on 29 May 1999. [1]

Contents

Founding (1999)

Following the death of military dictator and de facto ruler of Nigeria, General Sani Abacha in 1998, his successor General Abdulsalami Abubakar initiated the transition which heralded Nigeria's return to democratic rule in 1999. The ban on political activities was lifted, and political prisoners were released from detention facilities. The constitution was styled after the ill-fated Second Republic — which saw the Westminster system of government jettisoned for an American presidential system. Political parties were formed (People's Democratic Party (PDP), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and Alliance for Democracy (AD)), and elections were set for April 1999. In the widely monitored 1999 election, former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo was elected on the PDP platform. On 29 May 1999, Obasanjo was sworn in as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In the controversial general election on 21 April 2007, Umaru Yar'Adua of the PDP was elected president.

Following the death of Umaru Yar'Adua on 5 May 2010, Goodluck Jonathan became the third president(Interim) [2] and later won the election the following year which was largely accredited as freer and fairer than all the previous elections of the 4th Republic. [3] Muhammadu Buhari then won the general elections on 28 March 2015 after the PDP rule of sixteen years (1999–2015). [4]

On 29 May 2015, Buhari was sworn in as President of Nigeria, becoming the first opposition figure to win a presidential election since independence in 1960. [5] On 29 May 2019, Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in for a second term as Nigeria's president, after winning the presidential election in February 2019. [6]

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, won the February 2023 presidential election to succeed Muhammadu Buhari as the next president of Nigeria. However, the opposition had accusations of electoral fraud in polls. [7] On 29 May 2023, Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president to succeed Buhari. [8]

Political parties

Major parties

Defunct major opposition

Minor parties

AccordA
Action AllianceAA
Action Democratic Party ADP
Action Peoples PartyAPP
African Action Congress AAC
African Democratic Congress ADC
All Progressives Grand Alliance APGA
Allied Peoples Movement APM
Boot PartyBP
Labour Party LP
National Rescue MovementNRM
New Nigeria Peoples PartyNNPP
Peoples Redemption Party PRP
Social Democratic Party SDP
Young Progressive Party YPP
Zenith Labour PartyZLP

Presidents

Presidents during the Nigerian Fourth Republic
PresidentTermParty
Olusegun Obasanjo 29 May 1999 – 29 May 2007 PDP
Umaru Yar'Adua 29 May 2007 – 5 May 2010 PDP
Goodluck Jonathan 6 May 2010 – 29 May 2015 PDP
Muhammadu Buhari 29 May 2015 – 29 May 2023 APC
Bola Tinubu 29 May 2023 – present APC

National Assembly Members

1999 – 2003

2003 – 2007

2007 – 2011

2011 – 2015

2015 – 2019

2019 – 2023

2023 – 2027

Constitutional amendments

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria)</span> Political party in Nigeria

The Peoples Democratic Party [sic] is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">President of Nigeria</span> Head of state and government of Nigeria

The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Nigeria</span> Political elections for public offices in Nigeria

Elections in Nigeria are forms of choosing representatives to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the various states in the fourth republic Nigeria. Elections in Nigeria started since 1959 with different political parties. It's a method of choosing leaders where the citizens have right to vote and to be voted for. For 2023, Nigerians are getting ready for Presidential elections with about 93.4 million eligible voters across the federation for the 25 February election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bola Tinubu</span> President of Nigeria since 2023

Chief Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is a Nigerian politician who is the 16th and current president of Nigeria. He was the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007; and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Umaru Musa Yar'Adua</span> President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua ; 16 August 1951 – 5 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atiku Abubakar</span> Vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007

Atiku Abubakar ; born 25 November 1946) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who served as the vice president of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 during the presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo. He ran as governor of Adamawa State in 1990, 1996, and in 1998, when he was finally elected before he became Obasanjo's running mate during the 1999 presidential election and was re-elected in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Nigerian general election</span> General election held in Nigeria

General elections were held in Nigeria on 21 April 2007 to elect the President and National Assembly. Governorship and State Assembly elections had been held on 14 April.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action Congress of Nigeria</span> Political party

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), formerly known as Action Congress (AC), was a Nigerian political party formed via the merger of a faction of Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance Congress of Democrats, and several other minor political parties in September 2006. The party controlled Lagos. It was regarded as a natural successor to the progressive politics more closely associated with the Action Group and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the First and Second Republics respectively. However, criticism of the party's more pragmatic and less ideological political outlook associated with AG and UPN, has made many argue it was less of a worthy political heir. The Party had strong presence in the South West, Mid-West and North Central Regions. Lagos, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Bauchi, Plateau, Niger, Adamawa, Oyo and Osun states by far accounts for majority of the party's presence and discernible power base.

John Odigie Oyegun is a Nigerian politician who served as the first national chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria. He was also the Executive Governor of Edo State between 1992 and 1993, during the aborted Nigerian Third Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawali Shuaibu</span> Nigerian politician (born 1955)

Lawali Shuaibu is a Nigerian politician who was elected senator for the Zamfara North Senatorial District of Zamfara State, Nigeria at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, running on the All People's Party (APP) platform. He took office on 29 May 1999. He was re-elected on the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) platform in 2003 to a second term of four years.

Abu Ibrahim is a Nigerian politician who was elected Senator for the Katsina South (Funtua) Senatorial district in April 2003 on the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) platform, serving for one term until May 2007. He was re-elected to the same seat in April 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress for Progressive Change</span> Political party in Nigeria

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was a political party founded in Nigeria in 2009 in preparation for the April 2011 elections. It was the 63rd political party to be founded in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Dangana Ocheja</span> Nigerian lawyer and politician

Emmanuel Dangana Ocheja is a Nigerian Senator who represented Kogi East senatorial district in the National Assembly, and a member of the All Progressives Congress.

Buba Galadima is a Nigerian politician who was National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) a party formed in the run-up to the 2011 national elections as a leading platform for former military ruler and President of Nigeria General Muhammadu Buhari. He was the Spokesperson of the People's Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Progressives Congress</span> Nigerian political party

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the party came to power following the victory of party candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election. This marked the first time in Nigerian history that an opposition party unseated a governing party and power was transferred peacefully.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of Staff to the President (Nigeria)</span> High-Ranking Official Responsible for Managing the Office of the President

The Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria is a high-ranking official who manages the Office of the President. The position was created by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, modelled after the White House Chief of Staff; and its duties are assigned by the President but primarily focused on managing the flow of information and people; advising the president on various issues – through these roles the position wields considerable influence.

The inauguration of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua as the 13th president of Nigeria, and 2nd in the fourth republic was held on Tuesday, 29 May 2007, marking the commencement of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's and Goodluck Jonathan's only term as president and vice president. It was the 5th presidential inauguration in Nigeria, the 3rd in the fourth republic and the first successful transition of power, from one democratically elected leader to another in Nigeria. Yar'Adua died 2 years, 341 days into this term, and Jonathan succeeded to the presidency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muslim–Muslim ticket</span> Political tickets in Nigerian elections

The Muslim–Muslim ticket is a term used to describe the political arrangement where both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of a major party are Muslims. In Nigerian politics, it refers to a distinctive phenomenon in the political landscape of Nigeria where both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates on a political ticket belong to the Muslim faith. This has been a controversial issue in Nigeria, a country with a roughly equal population of Muslims and Christians, and a history of ethno-religious conflicts. The Muslim–Muslim ticket has been seen by some as a threat to the religious balance and harmony of the country, and by others as a progressive move that transcends religious sentiments and focuses on competence and merit.

References

  1. "June 12, NASS and Nigeria's Fourth Republic". Punch Newspapers. 2019-06-12. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  2. "Goodluck Jonathan wins vote to run in Nigeria's April election". The Guardian. Associated Press. 14 January 2011.
  3. "Nigeria election: Riots over Goodluck Jonathan win". BBC News. 17 April 2011.
  4. "Nigeria election: Muhammadu Buhari wins presidency". BBC News. 31 March 2015.
  5. "Nigeria's President Buhari promises change at inauguration". BBC News. 29 May 2015.
  6. Abang, Mercy. "Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari sworn in for second term as president". www.aljazeera.com.
  7. "Who is Bola Tinubu, Nigeria's president-elect?". www.aljazeera.com.
  8. "Bola Tinubu sworn in as Nigeria's president, succeeds Buhari". www.aljazeera.com.