WAEC Government 2014 past questions

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

Ten questions from the 2014 WAEC Government paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 49 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Government 2014 questions and answers

1. 1.The ECOWAS Fund for Co-operation, Compensation and Development is located in
   1. A
      Lomé, Togo
      Correct
   2. B
      Accra, Ghana
   3. C
      Dakar, Senegal
   4. D
      Abuja, Nigeria
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   Answer: A

   The ECOWAS Fund for Co-operation, Compensation and Development is headquartered in Lomé, Togo. It was established as the financial institution of the Economic Community of West African States, mandated to fund development projects and compensate member states that suffer losses as a result of trade liberalisation measures within the Community.

2. 2.Foreign policy refers to the
   1. A
      economic plan designed to attract foreign direct investment
   2. B
      military strategy adopted for the defence of national borders
   3. C
      body of domestic laws governing the admission of foreigners into a country
   4. D
      set of principles and guidelines governing a state's relations with other states
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Foreign policy is the totality of the principles, objectives, and strategies that guide a state's interactions with other sovereign states and international organisations. It is formulated by the government and implemented through the ministry of foreign affairs and diplomatic missions abroad.

3. 3.A pressure group formed only by teachers is
   1. A
      a promotional pressure group
   2. B
      a sectional or occupational pressure group
      Correct
   3. C
      a community development association
   4. D
      a political party
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   Answer: B

   Pressure groups are broadly classified as sectional (also called protective) or promotional. A group formed exclusively by members of a specific occupation — such as teachers forming the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) — is a sectional pressure group.

4. 4.The following are merits of separation of powers except
   1. A
      It safeguards the fundamental rights of citizens
   2. B
      It ensures no single arm of government becomes too powerful
   3. C
      It leads to slow and inefficient decision-making
      Correct
   4. D
      It prevents tyranny and the rise of dictatorship
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   Answer: C

   Slow and inefficient decision-making is a demerit, not a merit, of the separation of powers. When executive, legislative, and judicial powers are kept strictly separate, passing legislation or executing policy can become protracted because each arm must go through its own processes and may block the others.

5. 5.Universal Adult Suffrage is popular because it
   1. A
      restricts voting to property-owning adults
   2. B
      grants the right to vote to every adult citizen regardless of sex, class or education
      Correct
   3. C
      allows only taxpayers to cast votes
   4. D
      limits participation to literate and educated citizens
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   Answer: B

   Universal Adult Suffrage is popular because it embodies the principle of political equality. By extending the right to vote to every adult citizen without distinction based on sex, social class, religion, level of education, or ownership of property, it ensures that government derives its mandate from the broadest possible expression of popular will.

6. 6.The purpose of an election is to
   1. A
      allow the military to legitimise its rule
   2. B
      enrich members of the dominant political party
   3. C
      choose representatives to govern on behalf of the people
      Correct
   4. D
      impose the will of the ruling class on the citizens
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   Answer: C

   The fundamental purpose of an election in a democratic system is to enable citizens to choose their representatives — those who will make laws and take decisions on their behalf. Through elections, the people grant a mandate to govern to the candidates who receive the most votes.

7. 7.Neutrality in the civil service means that
   1. A
      civil servants are free to actively campaign for political parties
   2. B
      civil servants serve any government in power without partisan bias
      Correct
   3. C
      civil servants may refuse to implement policies they disagree with
   4. D
      civil servants are exempt from obeying government directives
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   Answer: B

   Neutrality is one of the core principles of the civil service. It means that career civil servants are non-partisan — they do not publicly align with any political party, and they loyally serve whichever elected government is in power, regardless of that government's political ideology.

8. 8.Which of the following is not a merits of checks and balances it?
   1. A
      It ensures accountability among the three arms of government
   2. B
      It creates conflict and unhealthy rivalry among the arms of government
      Correct
   3. C
      It prevents the abuse of power by any arm of government
   4. D
      It protects the fundamental rights of the citizens
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   Answer: B

   Creating conflict and unhealthy rivalry among the arms of government is a demerit of checks and balances, not a merit. When each arm is empowered to restrain the others, friction and institutional deadlock can arise, slowing governance.

   Preventing abuse of power, ensuring accountability, and protecting fundamental rights are genuine benefits of the checks-and-balances doctrine.

9. 9.The central government can reduce annual subventions to public corporations through
   1. A
      increasing the corporations' workforce
   2. B
      expanding the range of services they offer
   3. C
      appointing more government directors to their boards
   4. D
      commercialisation of public corporations
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   When government commercialises a public corporation, the corporation is required to operate on sound commercial principles — generating its own revenue, covering its costs, and ultimately becoming financially self-sufficient. This reduces or eliminates the need for annual government subventions (subsidies).

10. 10.The money given by the central government to local authorities is known as
    1. A
       grant-in-aid
       Correct
    2. B
       internally generated revenue
    3. C
       capital levy
    4. D
       customs and excise duty
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    Answer: A

    When the central (federal) government transfers funds to local authorities to supplement their own revenue and enable them to carry out their functions, such transfers are called grants-in-aid. These grants may be conditional — requiring the local authority to spend funds on specified purposes such as education, health, or infrastructure — or unconditional (block grants), which give local authorities discretion over how the money is spent.

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

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 49 questions we hold from the 2014 paper, on a timed CBT screen

Every question has the answer and an explanation, in the Skolra app.

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