WAEC Government 2024 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2024 WAEC Government paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 60 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Government 2024 questions and answers

1. 1.

   SECTION A: Elements of Government

   (a) Highlight three ways in which the judicial arm of government sustains democracy.

   (b) Examine three ways by which the executive arm of government sustains democracy

   1. A
      Both the judiciary and executive should be abolished entirely in favor of military or autocratic rule that makes unilateral decisions
   2. B
      Judiciary: enforces rule of law, reviews executive actions, and protects constitutional rights. Executive: implements laws fairly, respects constitutional limits, and remains accountable to the public through elections and oversight
      Correct
   3. C
      The judiciary and executive should merge into a single all-powerful body that can make and enforce laws without any checks or institutional separation
   4. D
      Judiciary should be subordinate to the executive with no independent authority. Executive should exercise unlimited power with no constitutional constraints or public accountability
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Correct answer: The judiciary and executive sustain democracy through distinct but complementary roles:

   Judiciary sustains democracy by: (1) Enforcing the rule of law — interpreting and applying laws fairly and consistently; (2) Reviewing executive action — using judicial review to prevent the executive from exceeding constitutional authority; (3) Protecting individual rights — ensuring that laws and government actions respect fundamental freedoms and constitutional guarantees.

2. 2.

   Public opinion is an essential element in a democracy because it can act as a

   1. A
      substitute for the constitution
   2. B
      source of government revenue
   3. C
      tool for delimiting constituencies
   4. D
      check on the excesses of government
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   In a democracy, government derives its authority from the people, so what the people think and say about government actions matters a great deal.

   So the correct answer is that public opinion serves as a check on the excesses of government.

3. 3.

   The Crown Colony policy introduced some progressive institutions of governance in West Africa such as the

   1. A
      Legislative Council
      Correct
   2. B
      House of Chiefs
   3. C
      Warrant Chief System
   4. D
      Native Authority System
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   Under the Crown Colony system, the British Governor ruled with the help of two bodies: an Executive Council (which advised him on policy) and a Legislative Council (which made laws). It is the Legislative Council that is remembered as a progressive step in governance, because over time it was opened up to unofficial and later elected African members, giving West Africans their first taste of representation and eventually paving the way to self-government.

4. 4.

   The African Union (AU) aims at ensuring the following developments in member countries except for

   1. A
      social development of member states
   2. B
      political integration among member states
   3. C
      territorial expansion of member states
      Correct
   4. D
      economic development of member states
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The African Union's Constitutive Act sets out clear objectives for member countries: political integration (closer union among African states and their peoples), economic development (accelerating socio-economic integration and pooling resources for growth), and social development (improving living standards, health, education and welfare across the continent).

5. 5.

   Accountability in constitutional democracy is best enforced through a system of

   1. A
      the rule of law alone, without separation of powers
   2. B
      checks and balances among the three arms of government
      Correct
   3. C
      fusion of powers among the three arms of government
   4. D
      delegated legislation by the executive arm
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   In a constitutional democracy, power is shared among the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, and each arm is given tools to monitor and restrain the others. This arrangement, checks and balances, is what actually enforces accountability: the legislature can query, investigate and even impeach the executive; the judiciary can review and nullify unconstitutional executive or legislative acts; and the executive can veto or influence legislation. Because no single arm has unchecked power, each one is answerable for its actions.

6. 6.

   SECTION A: Elements of Government

   Identify and explain five reasons for which civil society organisations are considered a major stakeholder in the governance structure of Nigeria.

   1. A
      CSOs should concentrate all resources on criticizing government without offering any constructive solutions or participating in governance processes
   2. B
      CSOs are irrelevant to governance and serve no meaningful purpose in the political or social structure of any nation
   3. C
      CSOs are obstacles to government that should be eliminated to allow the state to exercise unchecked authority without public interference or scrutiny
   4. D
      CSOs represent citizen interests, promote government accountability through monitoring, provide services, strengthen democratic participation, and build social trust between communities and institutions
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Correct answer: Civil society organizations (CSOs) are major stakeholders in Nigeria's governance structure for five essential reasons: (1) Interest aggregation — they represent and amplify the voices of citizens, workers, professionals, and marginalized groups in policy discussions; (2) Accountability mechanisms — they monitor government performance, investigate corruption, and expose misconduct through investigative journalism and advocacy; (3) Service delivery — they provide social services (health, education, welfare) that complement or substitute for government services; (4) Democratic strengthening — they mobilize citizen participation, conduct civic education, and build democratic culture; (5) Social capital — they create networks of trust and cooperation that facilitate collective action for the common good.

7. 7.

   Power, authority, legitimacy and sovereignty are described in the study of government as what?

   1. A
      Types of government
   2. B
      Basic concepts of government
      Correct
   3. C
      Organs of government
   4. D
      Functions of government
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Power, authority, legitimacy and sovereignty are all terms introduced right at the start of the Government syllabus, under the topic Basic Concepts in Government. They are the building-block ideas a student must understand before studying how government actually operates: power is the ability to influence or control others, authority is power that is recognised as rightful, legitimacy is the acceptance of that authority by the people, and sovereignty is the supreme, final authority of the state.

8. 8.

   The ultimate source of power and authority which sets the state apart from other forms of political organisations is referred to as

   1. A
      Government
   2. B
      Authority
   3. C
      Legitimacy
   4. D
      Sovereignty
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   Sovereignty is correct. Sovereignty is defined in Government as the supreme, final and ultimate power of the state to make and enforce decisions over its people and territory, free from external control. It is this attribute — supreme and absolute authority — that distinguishes the state from other political or social organisations such as political parties, pressure groups or the family, none of which possess ultimate power.

9. 9.

   One of the reasons for which the United Nations (UN) is considered as the only influential world body is the fact that it

   1. A
      funds its operations entirely from the contributions of its founding members
   2. B
      was formed immediately after the Berlin Conference of 1884
   3. C
      has almost all the sovereign states of the world as its members
      Correct
   4. D
      restricts its membership to the five permanent Security Council states
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   Correct: the United Nations has almost all the sovereign states of the world as its members. This near-universal membership is exactly what sets the UN apart from every other international or regional body and is the main reason it is regarded as the only truly influential world organisation — decisions and actions taken under it carry the weight of near-global consensus.

10. 10.

    The following influential nationalist leaders contributed significantly to shaping the political destiny and nation-states of West Africa except

    1. A
       Sekou Toure
    2. B
       Nnamdi Azikiwe
    3. C
       Julius Nyerere
       Correct
    4. D
       Kwame Nkrumah
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: C

    Julius Nyerere is the exception. He was indeed a great African nationalist leader, but he led Tanganyika (later Tanzania) to independence and became its first President — and Tanzania lies in East Africa, not West Africa.

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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