JAMB Government Curriculum
72 study units over 9 terms, SS1 to SS3. Work through them in order and tick each one off.
The curriculum comes with the Complete plan
Complete gives you full UTME mock exams in the CBT style, revision notes for every topic, the full curriculum as a checklist and past papers, as well as every practice question with its explanation. ₦10,000 a month, or ₦108,000 a year.
SS1 Foundation
Political concepts, institutions and early Nigerian history
First Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Meaning and Scope of Government
Government as institution, process and academic field; purposes of government.
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2
Unit 02
Power, Authority, Legitimacy and Sovereignty
Political power; sources of authority; legitimacy; sovereignty and its significance.
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3
Unit 03
State, Nation, Society and Nation-State
Elements of a state; differences among state, nation, society and nation-state.
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4
Unit 04
The Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
Functions of each arm; separation of powers; checks and balances.
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5
Unit 05
Forms of Government
Democracy, monarchy, republic, oligarchy and autocracy; comparison.
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6
Unit 06
Unitary, Federal and Confederal Structures
Distribution of political powers among levels; centralisation and decentralisation.
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7
Unit 07
Political Ideologies
Capitalism, socialism, communism and other belief systems discussed in the student notes.
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8
Unit 08
The Constitution and Rule of Law
Meaning, nature and classifications of constitutions; constitutional supremacy and rule of law.
Second Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Citizenship and rights
Citizenship, acquisition, rights, duties and civic obligations.
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2
Unit 02
Electoral process
Stages of elections; electoral administration; voter participation and safeguards.
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3
Unit 03
Political parties and systems
Party functions, party competition and one-, two-and multi-party patterns.
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4
Unit 04
Pressure groups
Advocacy, lobbying and influence on public policy; differences from parties.
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5
Unit 05
Political participation and culture
Voting, association, participation, political socialisation and political culture.
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6
Unit 06
Public opinion
Meaning, formation, expression, measurement and limitations of public opinion.
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7
Unit 07
Civil service and public corporations
Career service, administration, bureaucratic principles and government-owned enterprises.
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8
Unit 08
Local government; revision
Local administration, service delivery, legal powers and cumulative term review.
Third Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Pre-colonial Nigerian political systems
Political organisation among major pre-colonial societies and comparative governance.
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2
Unit 02
Colonial acquisition of Nigeria
Colonial penetration, treaties, commerce, conquest and administrative consolidation.
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3
Unit 03
British indirect rule
Mechanisms of indirect rule, native authorities and varying regional outcomes.
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4
Unit 04
Constitutional development
Major colonial constitutional stages and growing political representation.
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5
Unit 05
Nationalist movements
Growth, methods and significance of nationalist agitation for self-rule.
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6
Unit 06
Democratic transitions
Transition from colonial administration to self-government and civilian rule.
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7
Unit 07
Federalism and military intervention
Constitutional division of powers and the impact of military interventions.
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8
Unit 08
SSCE/UTME review
Cumulative concepts, Nigerian political history, structured writing and objective practice.
SS2 Development
Constitutional history, federalism, political institutions and foreign policy
First Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Nigerian constitutional history
Constitutional development in Nigeria is best understood as successive changes in who could make laws, form a government and vote.
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2
Unit 02
Colonial administration and comparison
Colonial administration relied on appointed officials answerable to Britain.
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3
Unit 03
Independence and First Republic
Nigeria became independent on 1 October 1960 and a republic on 1 October 1963.
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4
Unit 04
Second Republic and military eras
The Second Republic (1979–1983) used a presidential constitution, unlike the preceding parliamentary First Republic.
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5
Unit 05
Public administration
Public administration is the practical implementation of policies through ministries, departments, agencies and public servants.
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6
Unit 06
Public corporations and civil service
The civil service consists mainly of permanent officials who support policy implementation; public corporations are statutory bodies that provide particular services.
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7
Unit 07
Electoral reforms
Electoral reform aims to make voter registration, voting, collation and dispute resolution more credible.
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8
Unit 08
Case-based revision
Historical and constitutional case questions reward explanation, not memorised lists.
Second Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Nigeria’s federal system
Federalism constitutionally divides powers between a central authority and constituent units.
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2
Unit 02
Revenue allocation and intergovernmental relations
Revenue allocation concerns how public income is shared vertically among levels of government and horizontally across states or local areas.
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3
Unit 03
Political parties and elections
Political parties aggregate interests, select candidates, develop programmes and compete for office.
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4
Unit 04
Public accountability and corruption
Public accountability requires officials to explain decisions and face consequences for abuse or misconduct.
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5
Unit 05
Human rights and the judiciary
Human rights are claims and protections held by persons under law, while judicial independence allows judges to decide disputes without improper pressure.
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6
Unit 06
Local government administration
Local government provides administration and services closer to communities.
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7
Unit 07
Political crises and transition
Political crises can arise from disputed elections, ethnic or regional mistrust, constitutional conflict, weak institutions and economic hardship.
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8
Unit 08
Exam practice
Structured Government questions use command words: define requires an accurate meaning; distinguish requires paired differences; explain requires cause and consequence; assess requires evidence and judgement.
Third Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Foreign policy foundations
Foreign policy is a country’s goals and decisions in relation to other states and international institutions.
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2
Unit 02
Determinants of Nigeria’s foreign policy
Geography, security, economic interests, leadership, public opinion, international law and membership of organisations shape Nigerian foreign policy.
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3
Unit 03
ECOWAS
ECOWAS promotes cooperation among West African states, including trade and regional stability.
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4
Unit 04
African Union
The African Union succeeded the Organisation of African Unity and works towards continental cooperation, peace, development and shared norms.
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5
Unit 05
United Nations
The United Nations was established in 1945 to support international peace, security and cooperation.
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6
Unit 06
OPEC and Commonwealth
OPEC is an intergovernmental grouping of petroleum-exporting countries concerned with oil-market coordination.
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7
Unit 07
International cooperation and peacekeeping
International cooperation occurs through diplomacy, agreements, technical assistance, trade, mediation and peacekeeping.
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8
Unit 08
Comparative review
Comparative questions are easier when organised around common criteria: membership, jurisdiction, aims, decision-making structures, enforcement capacity and challenges.
SS3 Mastery
Integrated political analysis and examination consolidation
First Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Institutions and governance revision
Governmental institutions should be analysed as connected checks and balances, not only as separate definitions.
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2
Unit 02
Political concepts and ideologies
Power is the ability to influence decisions; authority is an accepted right to command; legitimacy concerns the justified acceptance of rule.
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3
Unit 03
Democracy and constitution
Constitutions describe the organisation of political power; democracy adds participation, accountability and rights.
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4
Unit 04
Electoral systems
Election analysis should distinguish electoral rules, voter registration, campaigning, voting, counting and dispute resolution.
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5
Unit 05
Citizenship and human rights
Citizenship creates a legal relationship with the state; human rights protect persons, including non-citizens in many contexts.
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6
Unit 06
Practice essays and UTME drills
Long-form questions require clear explanation while objective tests reward precision between similar terms.
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7
Unit 07
Timed mock and corrections
A mock exposes conceptual weaknesses when every wrong answer is classified by cause.
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8
Unit 08
Mastery clinic
Mastery comes from being able to explain a concept without a prompt and apply it to an unfamiliar case.
Second Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Nigerian political development
Nigeria’s political development: colonial rule, constitutional change, independence, the republics, military rule and transitions to civilian government.
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2
Unit 02
Nationalism and constitutional milestones
Nationalist movements and the constitutional milestones of 1922, 1946, 1951, 1954, 1960 and 1963.
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3
Unit 03
Civil service and local government
The civil service and local government: structure, functions, control, reforms and problems.
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4
Unit 04
Nigeria’s foreign policy
Nigeria’s foreign policy: principles, determinants, Africa as centrepiece, non-alignment and peacekeeping.
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5
Unit 05
International organisations
International organisations: the UN, AU (formerly OAU), ECOWAS, the Commonwealth, OPEC and APPO.
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6
Unit 06
Data and source interpretation
Interpreting tables of election results, revenue figures and extracts from constitutions and speeches.
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7
Unit 07
SSCE structured questions
SSCE structured questions: definitions, explained points, Nigerian examples and reasoned conclusions.
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8
Unit 08
CBT review
Computer-based UTME objective questions across the whole syllabus.
Third Term 8 units
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1
Unit 01
Comprehensive objective revision
Objective revision of elements of government, political development in Nigeria and international relations.
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2
Unit 02
Analysis of past examination themes
Recurring examination themes such as federalism, constitutions, military rule, parties and international organisations.
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3
Unit 03
Essay writing clinics
Essay planning and writing: introduction, explained points, examples and conclusion.
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4
Unit 04
Timed CBT practice
Timed computer-based practice under examination conditions.
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5
Unit 05
Weak-topic remediation
Targeted remediation of weak topics identified from mock results.
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6
Unit 06
Exam readiness
Final readiness checks in objective and structured questions.
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7
Unit 07
Independent mastery work
Independent revision that links SS1 foundations with SS2 and SS3 topics.
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8
Unit 08
Final assessment
Final assessment of examination readiness across the whole syllabus.