WAEC Government 2020 Theory — Question 2

Model answer

Features of Federalism: A federal system of government is where there are at least two levels of government in a country and there is a constitutional division of powers among these levels of government (K.C Wheare is a major writer on federalism. Countries operating the federal system of government include: United States of America, Australia, Germany, India, Pakistan and Nigeria). (1) There are two levels of government i.e. Central or Federal authority and constituent units. In Nigeria, there are three levels of government: Federal, State and Local Governments. (2) Division of powers between the Centre and component unit. In a federal system, the constitution divides governmental functions and responsibilities among the levels of government. For instance, the exclusive list contains items which the federal government alone can legislate on; the concurrent list is meant for the federal and component governments, while the residual list is for the component units alone. (3) Existence of a written constitution. (4) It has a rigid constitution. A rigid constitution is that constitution that is difficult to amend. The rigidity of a federal constitution is necessary to prevent a section of the country from amending or changing the contents of the constitution for their own selfish interests. (5) Supremacy of the constitution. In a federal state, the constitution is supreme as all levels of government derive their powers from the constitution. (6) Independent judiciary. (7) Bicameral legislature. A federal state usually has a bicameral legislature, that is, two houses of legislature. The rationale behind the second chamber in a federal state is to make up for the equality of the constituent units of the federation in the legislature. (8) Dual loyalty/allegiance, in a federal state, citizens owe allegiance to the government of the state/region and the central federal government. (9) The existence of a system of Revenue Allocation. (10) The Supremacy of the Central Government in case of conflict. Whenever a conflict arises between the central and component governments, especially on items on the concurrent list, the laws of the federal government will supersede that of the component government. (11) The right of secession is denied.