WAEC Government 2008 past questions

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

Ten questions from the 2008 WAEC Government paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 47 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Government 2008 questions and answers

1. 1.Residual powers in a federation are exercised by the
   1. A
      central government
   2. B
      component state governments
      Correct
   3. C
      the judiciary
   4. D
      local governments
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   Answer: B

   In a federal system, powers are distributed between the central government and the component units. Residual powers are those not specifically listed in the constitution as belonging to the federal or central government. They are reserved for and exercised by the component state governments. In Nigeria, matters not on the Exclusive or Concurrent Legislative List fall to the states under this principle.

2. 2.The head of government in a parliamentary system is the
   1. A
      Speaker of Parliament
   2. B
      Lord Chancellor
   3. C
      President
   4. D
      Prime Minister
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   In a parliamentary system of government, the Prime Minister is the head of government and holds effective executive authority. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party or coalition that commands a majority in the legislature. The head of state (a monarch or ceremonial president) is a separate, largely ceremonial office.

3. 3.Power can be defined as the ability to
   1. A
      allocate national resources among competing groups
   2. B
      make laws and enforce them on all citizens
   3. C
      manage a country's economic resources
   4. D
      control and influence the behaviour of others
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Power in political science is the capacity to influence or control the conduct of others, whether through coercion, persuasion, or authority. It is the ability to get others to act in ways that align with one's will, regardless of whether those others would have chosen that course of action independently. This is the foundational definition used in the study of government and political theory.

4. 4.The British Minister responsible for the administration of British territories in the Crown Colony system was the
   1. A
      Lord Privy Seal
   2. B
      Secretary of State for the Colonies
      Correct
   3. C
      Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
   4. D
      Secretary of State for War
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   Answer: B

   Under the Crown Colony system of British colonial administration, the Secretary of State for the Colonies — a Cabinet minister based in London — had ultimate authority over Crown Colony territories. The Secretary of State issued instructions to colonial governors, approved legislation passed by colonial legislatures, and was the link between the Crown and the colonies in all matters of administration.

5. 5.Nazism is a political ideology which emphasized
   1. A
      class struggle and the dictatorship of the proletariat
   2. B
      racial superiority and extreme nationalism
      Correct
   3. C
      equal distribution of wealth among all citizens
   4. D
      individual liberties and limited government intervention
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   Answer: B

   Nazism, also known as National Socialism as practised in Adolf Hitler's Germany from 1933 to 1945, is characterised by extreme nationalism, the belief in the racial superiority of the so-called Aryan race, anti-Semitism, and the absolute subordination of the individual to the state and its leader. It combined fascist authoritarian rule with virulent racism, expansionist militarism, and the systematic persecution of groups deemed inferior. Class struggle and redistribution of wealth are features of Marxism, not Nazism.

6. 6.A constitutional amendment that is cumbersome is usually described as
   1. A
      conventional
   2. B
      unwritten
   3. C
      flexible
   4. D
      rigid
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   A rigid constitution is one that requires a special, more demanding procedure to amend than is needed to pass ordinary legislation. This may involve securing a supermajority in the legislature, holding a referendum, or obtaining ratification by a specified proportion of constituent state legislatures. Because the amendment process is difficult and time-consuming, such constitutions are described as rigid. A flexible constitution, by contrast, can be amended by the same simple process used to pass any other law.

7. 7.One party system is a feature of
   1. A
      federal systems of government
   2. B
      liberal democracies
   3. C
      constitutional monarchies
   4. D
      totalitarian or authoritarian states
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   A one-party system is a hallmark of totalitarian or authoritarian states, where a single political party holds a monopoly on political power, outlaws or suppresses opposition parties, and controls all branches of government. This system denies citizens the freedom to organize competing political movements and is incompatible with liberal democratic principles.

8. 8.In a unitary state, sovereignty resides in the
   1. A
      independent electoral commission
   2. B
      central government
      Correct
   3. C
      regional governments
   4. D
      local governments
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   Answer: B

   In a unitary state, supreme political authority is concentrated in a single central government. Regional and local governments may exist as administrative conveniences, but they derive all their powers from the central government and remain entirely subordinate to it — the central government can create, modify, restructure, or abolish them at will. This concentration of sovereignty in the centre is the defining characteristic that distinguishes a unitary state from a federal state.

9. 9.The headquarters of the French Colonial government in West Africa was
   1. A
      Conakry
   2. B
      Dakar
      Correct
   3. C
      Abidjan
   4. D
      Lagos
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   Answer: B

   Dakar, in present-day Senegal, served as the capital and headquarters of Afrique Occidentale Française (French West Africa — AOF), the federation of French colonial territories in West Africa established in 1895. The Governor-General of French West Africa was based in Dakar, from where central colonial administration over the entire region was coordinated.

10. 10.The official members in the Legislative Councils of the British Colonial government were
    1. A
       nominated African merchants and professionals
    2. B
       traditional rulers and paramount chiefs
    3. C
       senior colonial officials and civil servants
       Correct
    4. D
       elected African representatives
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    Answer: C

    In the Legislative Councils established under British colonial administration, official members were senior colonial officials and civil servants — such as the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, and heads of government departments — who sat on the council by virtue of their official positions. They were distinct from unofficial members, who were nominated or elected non-official persons. Official members were expected to vote in accordance with government policy and were used to ensure the colonial administration maintained a majority.

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 47 questions we hold from the 2008 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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