THEORY
1. (a) What is a Federal State?
(b) What are the problems usually associated with Federal system of government?
2. Explain concurrent functions in a federation.
3. Outline five factors that give rise to the adoption of federalism.
OBJECTIVES
1. Which of the following is not a pre-requisite for the adoption of the federal system of government?
A. size.
B. population.
C. diversity.
D. homogeneity.
2. In a federal system of government, the powers of state governments are subordinate to
A. the regional constitutions.
B. the supreme body of state laws.
C. acts of the parliament at the centre.
D. provincial laws.
3. One of the importance of federalism is that
A. any component part can secede at any time.
B. each state can develop at its own pace.
C. citizens cannot be taxed by both state and federal government.
D. each state can spend money allocated to it by the centre.
4. Countries adopt federal system of government because of
A. uneven development.
B. adoption of a state religion.
C. the fear of domination of minorities.
D. the availability of limited resources.
5. In Nigeria, the concurrent list of powers belongs to the
A. local authority only.
B. executive, the judiciary and the legislature.
C. federal and state governments.
D. state and local government.
6. In the federation, the purpose of enumerating the powers of the central government is to
A. ensure efficient administration.
B. ensure greater unity.
C. reduce the financial burden of the units.
D. limit its power against those of the units.
7. The system of government in which authority is shared between the centre and the component units
is called
A. unitary system of government.
B. feudal system of government.
C. federal system of government.
D. monarchical system of government.
8. A constitutionally created account into which all public revenue is paid is called
A. Provident Fund.
B. Social Security Fund.
C. Public Accounts Fund.
D. Consolidated Fund.
9. Federal state is always expensive to run because
A. every parliamentarian wants to become rich.
B. government departments are duplicated.
C. judges are highly paid from the consolidated fund.
10. A type of government which allows co-ordinate units to make laws is
A. federal.
B. monarchical.
C. unitary.
D. presidential.
11. The type of government where the central authority is superior to the component authorities is a
A. parliamentary system of government.
B. representative system of government.
C. confederal system of government.
D. federal system of government.
12. A characteristic of a federal system of government is that power is
A. shared between the central and unit governments.
B. shared between the component units of government.
C. held by the national government.
D. held by the state government.
13. The Exclusive List in a federal State includes
A. education.
B. market.
C. defence.
D. transportation
14. In a federal system of government, education and health are examples of
A. separation of powers.
B. reserved powers.
C. concurrent powers.
D. exclusive powers.
15. In which of the following systems of government is decentralization a common feature?
A. unitary government.
B. confederal government.
C. socialist government.
D. federal government.
16. Under a federal system of government, a citizen living in any part of the country is expected to obey laws
A. Federal Government only.
B. Federal
C. maintenance of the army involves high expenditure.
17. Which of the following is supreme in a federal system?
A. Judiciary.
B. Legislature.
C. Constitution.
D. Executive.
18. Which of the following is a factor in the formation of a federation?
A. Desire for a union.
B. Absence of a common enemy.
C. Small population.
D. Geographical incontiguity.
19. All the following are the conditions for the adoption of federalism except
A. size.
B. defence.
C. population.
D. homogeneity.
20. Which of the following countries does not operate a federal constitution?
A. USA.
B. Canada.
C. Nigeria.
D. France.
21. Which of the following is the basic factor in the formation of a federation? The
A. presence of a common enemy.
B. willingness to remain dependent.
C. existence of a single large ethnic group.
D. desire for union.
22. If the federal government and the unit government are to preserve their autonomy, the
A. federal government must be supreme.
B. unit government must be supreme.
C. judiciary must be supreme.
D. constitution must be supreme.
23. When there is a conflict between the regional and federal laws under the concurrent legislative list,
the.
A. Feral laws would prevail.
B. Federal laws would be declared null and void.
C. regional laws would prevail.
D. Head of State would settle the conflict.
24. In the Federal system of government, the component units
A. have equal powers with the central authority.
B. derive their powers from the constitution.
C. are subordinate to one another.
D. maintain separate currencies.
25. The powers allocated to the central government in a federation are contained in the
A. central legislative and Local Governments.
B. Local Government only.
C. Federal, State and Local Government.
26. In a classical federal state, residual powers are vested in the
A. federal and state governments.
B. federal government.
C. federal and local governments.
D. state governments.
27. An advantage of a federal system of government is that it
A. promotes even economic development.
B. facilitates quick secession.
C. is less expensive to operate.
D. encourages unity in diversity.
28. A quasi-federal constitution will produce
A. a strong central government.
B. strong component government.
C. a strong unitary government.
D. a strong confederal government.
29. In a federal system of government, the power shared between the central and state governments is known as
A. legislative power.
B. exclusive power.
C. concurrent power.
D. Judicial power.
30. Residual powers in a federation are exercised by the
A. federal government.
B. federal and state government.
C. state governments.
D. federal and local governments.
31. A system where at least two levels of government derive their powers from the constitution is
called
A. unitary.
B. cabinet.
C. federal.
D. presidential
32. One of the reasons why states form a federation is to
A. make the government of a small nation easy.
B. keep the residual powers.
C. cater for local differences.
D. be able to take quick decisions.
33. Concurrent list in a federal constitution deals with issues within the legislative powers of the
A. army and local governments.
B. federal and local councils.
C. police and the legislature.
D. federal and state governments.
34. The existence of the exclusive, residual and concurrent legislative lists means that Nigerian State
is
A. Presidential.
B. Military.
C. Unitary.
D. Federal.
35. Which of the following factors necessitates the adoption of federalism in a state?
A. Fear of one ethnic group dominating the others.
B. Adoption of a Written Constitution.
C. Availability of natural resources.
D. Encouragement of secession.
36. A federal system of government is adopted in a state with
A. a single ethnic group.
B. small population with large expanse of land.
C. weak economic base.
D. marked inequalities among the component units.
37. In federations, concurrent list of powers is usually given to the
A. federal government.
B. regional units.
C. central authority and regional units.
D. regional units and local authorities.
38. Which of the following is not true of a federal system of government?
A. There are three legislative lists.
B. Powers are not constitutionally share.
C. There are component units.
D. The constitution is written and rigid.
39. The system of government in which powers are shared between the centre and the component units
is called
A. totalitarianism.
B. federalism.
C. unitary.
D. oligarchy.
40. Which of the following is a feature of federalism
A. Unwritten Constitution.
B. Flexible Constitution.
C. Unitary Constitution.
D. Written Constitution.
41. The exclusive list in federalism includes all the following except
A. defence.
B. foreign relation.
C. currency.
D. transportation.
42. Which of the following alternatives is a feature of a federation
A. Unwritten constitution.
B. Unicameral legislature.
C. Supremacy of the constitution.
D. Right to secede.
43. A federal government is a form of
A. decentralization.
B. centralization.
C. confederation.
D. revolution.
44. In which political system are two levels of government with considerable devolution?
A. Capitalism
B. Federalism
C. Fascism
D. Unitarism
45. A quasi-federal structure is so arranged in order for the
A. centre to coordinate national level programmes
B. component units to breakaway at will
C. citizens to have dual allegiance and dual citizenship
D. president to amend the constitution at will
46. A state that has two levels of government is commonly referred to as
A. cooperative government
B. federal state
C. concurrent state
D. coalition government
