Legislative branch:
bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats - 3 from
each state plus 1 from Abuja, members elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats,
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held 21
April 2007); House of Representatives - last held 12 April 2003
(next to be held 21 April 2007)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 53.7%,
ANPP 27.9%, AD 9.7%; seats by party - PDP 76, ANPP 27, AD 6; House
of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 54.5%, ANPP
27.4%, AD 8.8%, other 9.3%; seats by party - PDP 223, ANPP 96, AD
34, other 6; note - one seat is vacant
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the President); Federal Court of
Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice
of the Advisory Judicial Committee)
Political parties and leaders:
Action Congress or AC [Bise Akande]; Advanced Congress of Demorats
or ACD [Alex Anielo]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [Mojisoluwa
AKINFENWA]; All Nigeria Peoples' Party or ANPP [Edwin UME-EZEOKE];
All Progressives Grand Alliance or APGA [disputed leadership];
Democratic People's Party or DPP [Jerry Useni]; Fresh Democratic
Party [Chris OKOTIE]; Movement for the Restoration and Defense of
Democracy or MRDD [Mohammed Gambo JIMETA]; National Democratic Party
or NDP [Aliyu Habu FARI]; Peoples Democratic Party or PDP [Dr.
Ahmadu ALI]; Peoples Redemption Party or PRP [Abdulkadir Balarabe
MUSA]; Peoples Salvation Party or PSP [Lawal MAITURARE]; United
Nigeria Peoples Party or UNPP [disputed leadership]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM,
OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNWTO,
UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Professor George A. OBIOZOR
chancery: 3519 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400
FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John CAMPBELL
embassy: 7 Mambilla Drive, Abuja
mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos
telephone: [234] (9) 523-0916/0906/5857/2235/2205
FAX: [234] (9) 523-0353
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green
Economy Nigeria
Economy - overview:
Oil-rich Nigeria, long hobbled by political instability,
corruption, inadequate infrastructure, and poor macroeconomic
management, is undertaking some reforms under a new reform-minded
administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify
the economy away from its overdependence on the capital-intensive
oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange
earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely
subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid
population growth - Nigeria is Africa's most populous country - and
the country, once a large net exporter of food, now must import
food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August
2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club
and a $1 billion credit from the IMF, both contingent on economic
reforms. Nigeria pulled out of its IMF program in April 2002, after
failing to meet spending and exchange rate targets, making it
ineligible for additional debt forgiveness from the Paris Club. In
the last year the government has begun showing the political will to
implement the market-oriented reforms urged by the IMF, such as to
modernize the banking system, to curb inflation by blocking
excessive wage demands, and to resolve regional disputes over the
distribution of earnings from the oil industry. In 2003, the
government began deregulating fuel prices, announced the
privatization of the country's four oil refineries, and instituted
the National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy, a
domestically designed and run program modeled on the IMF's Poverty
Reduction and Growth Facility for fiscal and monetary management. In
November 2005, Abuja won Paris Club approval for a debt-relief deal
that eliminated $18 billion of debt in exchange for $12 billion in
payments-a total package worth $30 billion of Nigeria's total $37
billion external debt. The deal requires Nigeria to be subject to
stringent IMF reviews. GDP rose strongly in 2006, based largely on
increased oil exports and high global crude prices.