WAEC Government 2007 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 15 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2007 WAEC Government paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 48 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Government 2007 questions and answers

1. 1.A type of government which allows co-ordinate units to make law is
   1. A
      Presidential system
   2. B
      Confederate system
   3. C
      Federal system
      Correct
   4. D
      Unitary system
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   Answer: C

   In a federal system, governmental powers are constitutionally divided between a central (federal) government and component units (states or regions). These units are co-ordinate — they are not subordinate to each other but each has defined areas in which it has the exclusive or concurrent authority to make laws.

2. 2.The introduction of elective principle in colonial West Africa allowed
   1. A
      universal adult suffrage to be immediately introduced
   2. B
      Africans to appoint their own ministers
   3. C
      colonial governors to be elected by Africans
   4. D
      Africans to elect some representatives to the legislative council
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   The introduction of the elective principle, most notably through the Clifford Constitution of 1922 in Nigeria, allowed a limited number of Africans to elect representatives to the legislative council for the first time. The franchise was narrow — confined to a small property-owning and educated urban elite — but it marked the beginning of representative government in colonial West Africa and was a significant step towards eventual self-governance.

3. 3.A system of government in which political leadership is based on land ownership is
   1. A
      Feudalism
      Correct
   2. B
      Oligarchy
   3. C
      Plutocracy
   4. D
      Aristocracy
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   Answer: A

   Feudalism was the dominant political and economic system in medieval Europe in which land ownership was the primary basis of political power and social status. Lords and nobles held political authority over the territories they owned, and peasants (serfs) were bound to work the land in exchange for protection.

4. 4.In a confederal, each of the component states is
   1. A
      subordinate to the central authority
   2. B
      directly administered by the central government
   3. C
      required to surrender its constitution to the centre
   4. D
      sovereign and independent
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   In a confederal system, the component states retain full sovereignty. The central body derives whatever limited authority it has only from the voluntary agreement of the member states, which may withdraw from the arrangement. No component state is subordinate to the centre; rather, the centre is subordinate to the collective will of the states.

5. 5.The political parties that that were established in West African between 1945 and 1965 fought for
   1. A
      political independence and self-government
      Correct
   2. B
      closer economic ties with colonial powers
   3. C
      military control of government
   4. D
      the exclusion of traditional rulers from politics
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   Answer: A

   The political parties established in West Africa between 1945 and 1965 — such as the NCNC, AG, and NPC in Nigeria; the CPP in Ghana; the RDA in French West Africa; and the SLPP in Sierra Leone — were primarily vehicles for the struggle for political independence and self-government. They mobilised popular opinion against colonial rule, demanded constitutional reforms, and negotiated the transfer of power from colonial administrations to elected African governments.

6. 6.A popular British colonial system of administration in the protectorates in West Africa was
   1. A
      assimilation
   2. B
      indirect rule
      Correct
   3. C
      direct rule
   4. D
      association
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   Answer: B

   Indirect rule was the system through which Britain administered its West African protectorates. Associated primarily with Lord Frederick Lugard, the policy worked through existing indigenous rulers, emirs, chiefs, and traditional institutions, using them as intermediaries to collect taxes, maintain order, and implement colonial directives. This was contrasted with the French policy of assimilation and with direct rule, which bypassed traditional structures entirely.

7. 7.A one - party system is common to
   1. A
      federal republics
   2. B
      totalitarian and authoritarian states
      Correct
   3. C
      liberal democracies
   4. D
      constitutional monarchies
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   Answer: B

   A one-party system is characteristic of totalitarian and authoritarian states, where a single political party holds a monopoly on political power, often backed by law or force. Competing parties are either banned or rendered ineffective. Such systems have been associated with communist states and various military-backed regimes, which suppress political pluralism to maintain centralised control.

8. 8.The type of government where the central authority is superior to the component authorities is a
   1. A
      unitary government
      Correct
   2. B
      presidential government
   3. C
      federal government
   4. D
      confederal government
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   Answer: A

   A unitary government is one in which all constitutional power resides in a single central authority. Regional or local governments exist only at the pleasure of the centre and may be created, altered, or abolished by it. This stands in contrast to a federal system, where power is divided between central and component authorities by a constitution, and to a confederal system, where the component states retain ultimate sovereignty.

9. 9.Which of the following is not an aim for the existence of a State?
   1. A
      Promotion of citizens' welfare
   2. B
      Suppression of civil liberties
      Correct
   3. C
      Maintenance of law and order
   4. D
      Provision of national security
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   Answer: B

   The state exists to serve its citizens and maintain a stable, orderly society. Its legitimate aims include maintaining law and order, promoting the welfare of citizens, and providing national security.

10. 10.The main focus of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) is the
    1. A
       promotion of economic integration in West Africa
    2. B
       collection of customs duties on cross-border trade
    3. C
       cultural exchange among ECOWAS member states
    4. D
       maintenance of peace and security in West Africa
       Correct
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    Answer: D

    ECOMOG, the ECOWAS Monitoring Group, is the military arm established by ECOWAS to maintain peace and security in the West African sub-region. It was created in 1990 primarily to intervene in the Liberian civil war, and subsequently operated in Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and Côte d'Ivoire. Its mandate centres on conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and the restoration of order in member states experiencing armed conflict or breakdown of constitutional government.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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Practise all 48 questions we hold from the 2007 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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