Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended to 2023
Head of State
  • English
    (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:
    (a) shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation;
    … (Sec. 5)
Head of State
  • English
    (1) There shall be for the Federation a President.
    (2) The President shall be the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation. (Sec. 130)
Head of State
  • English

    A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if –
    (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth;
    (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years;
    (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and
    (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. (Sec. 131)

Vice-President
  • English
    (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:
    (a) shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation;
    … (Sec. 5)
Vice-President
  • English

    A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if –
    (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth;
    (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years;
    (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and
    (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent. (Sec. 131)

Vice-President
  • English
    There shall be for the Federation a Vice-President. (Sec. 141)
Vice-President
  • English

    (1) In any election to which the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Chapter8 relate, a candidate for an election to the office of President shall not be deemed to be validly nominated unless he nominates another candidate as his associate from the same political party for his running for the office of President, who is to occupy the office of Vice-President and that candidate shall be deemed to have been duly elected to the office of Vice-President if the candidate for an election to the office of President who nominated him as such associate is duly elected as President in accordance with the provisions aforesaid.
    (2) The provisions of this Part of this Chapter relating to qualification for election, tenure of office, disqualification, declaration of assets and liabilities and oaths of President shall apply in relation to the office of Vice-President as if references to President were references to Vice-President. (Sec. 142)

Government
  • English
    (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:
    (a) shall be vested in the President and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation;
    … (Sec. 5)
Government
  • English

    (3) The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.
    … (Sec. 14)
Government
  • English

    (1) There shall be such offices of Ministers of the Government of the Federation as may be established by the President.
    (2) Any appointment to the office of Minister of the Government of the Federation shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the Senate, be made by the President.
    Provided that no Ministerial nominee shall be confirmed by the Senate unless evidence of declaration of assets and liabilities of the nominee as prescribed in this Constitution is presented.
    (3) Any appointment under subsection (2) of this section by the President shall be in conformity with the provisions of section 14(3) of this Constitution:
    Provided that in giving effect to the provisions aforesaid the President shall appoint at least one Minister from each State, who shall be an indigene of such State.
    (4) Where a member of the National Assembly or of a House of Assembly is appointed as Minister of the Government of the Federation, he shall be deemed to have resigned his membership of the National Assembly or of the House of Assembly on his taking the oath of office as Minister.
    (5) No person shall be appointed as a Minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.
    … (Sec. 147)

Legislature
  • English
    (1) The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
    (2) The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.
    … (Sec. 4)
Legislature
  • English
    There shall be a National Assembly for the Federation which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. (Sec. 47)
Legislature
  • English

    (1) Subject to the provisions of section 66 of this Constitution, a person shall be qualified for election as a member of:
    (a) the Senate, if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 35 years; and
    (b) the House of Representatives, if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 25 years;
    (2) A person shall be qualified for election under subsection (1) of this section if:
    (a) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent; and
    (b) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party. (Sec. 65)

Legislature
  • English

    (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every Senatorial district or Federal constituency established in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Chapter9 shall return a member who shall be directly elected to the Senate or the House of Representatives in such manner as may be prescribed by an act of the National Assembly.
    … (Sec. 77)

1

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended to 2023 (English), available in HeinOnline World Constitutions Illustrated Library (2024).

Document last visited 9 January 2024
2
Chapter III on Citizenship.
3
Chapter III on Citizenship.
4
Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights.
5
Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights.
6
Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights.
7
Chapter IV on Fundamental Rights.
8

Part I on Federal Executive, Chapter VI on The Executive.

9

Part I on National Assembly, Chapter V on The Legislature.

10

Chapter VII on the Judicature.

11

Chapter VII on the Judicature.