Nigeria is a federal republic with a presidential system whose government operates as a representative democracy. 

The constitution provides for a separation of powers among the three distinct branches:  legislative, executive, and judicia.    

The Executive level consists of Federal Ministries responsible for various government-owned corporations for such services as education, healthcare, welfare, and finance.  

The Legislature establish the legal principles of state and public life.   

The primary function of the Judiciary is the interpretation of the law and strengthening the rule of law, ensuring compliance with legislation and developing democracy.   

Government of Nigeria consists of three tiers: Federal Government; 36 State Governments (plus the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja);  and 774 Local Governments areas governed by a council that is responsible for supplying basic needs. 

Nigeria’s legal system is based on a combination of statutory (legislative) law, English common law, customary law, and, in the north, Islamic law (Sharia).  

The Federal Ministry of Transport (FMT) is responsible for most transportation-related policy-making and implementation in Nigeria, overseeing parastatals including among others:  

• Nigerian Airspace Management Agency
• Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)  
• Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
• Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency  
• Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC)  
• Nigerian Ports Authority
• Nigerian Shippers’ Council
• National Inland Waterways Authority 

Recent transport investment has been guided by two major policy documents – the Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP), running from 2014 to 2043, and the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), a mid-term macroeconomic development agenda covering the period from 2017 to 2020. 

Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Finance. This governmental body is responsible for managing the finances of Nigeria in all its forms. It collects and controls the distribution of funds, develops the policies of tax formation, establishes tariffs, prepares, and controls the annual budget.   

Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). This agency is in charge of ensuring compliance with petroleum laws and primary features of the Oil and Gas industry of Nigeria. Its activity aims to maintain the overall standards and preparation of necessary documents, which relate the petroleum reserves, its production, licenses, and export.  

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). This regulating body is responsible for public health in Nigeria. NAFDAC is in charge of control and maintenance of distribution and sale of medications, cosmetics, chemicals, packaged water, etc. Its key function is to ensure the manufacture, delivery, and sale of high-quality products within Nigeria and beyond its lines 

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This regulatory body is responsible for the control of businesses involved in the telecommunications space in Nigeria. It ensures the availability of high-quality and cost-effective telecommunications services in the country. 

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is an independent customs service under the supervisory oversight of the Nigerian Ministry of Finance, responsible for the collection of customs revenue and anti-smuggling efforts. 

To read more go to: www.legit.ng/1217137-regulatory-bodies-nigeria-functions

 
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of Nigeria was established to manage disasters in Nigeria implementing such measures as the education of the public in order to raise their level of awareness and reduce the effects of disasters in the country. 

It coordinates resources towards efficient and effective disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response in Nigeria. It acts in the following areas: Coordination, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), search and rescue, policy and strategy, Geographic Information System, Advocacy, education, administration, finance and logistics, relief and rehabilitation, planning, research and forecasting. 

The NEMA Act mandated all States to establish State Emergency Management Agencies and Local Governments to establish Local Emergency Management Committees. NEMA promotes decentralization of DRR activities at all levels. 
There is a national multi-sectoral platform for disaster risk reduction and a National Action Plan for DRR. NEMA has the authority to mobilise and coordinate actions by other agencies such as the Fire Service, the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Commission, Federal Ministry of Health and the Red Cross.  

Nigeria is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa, with a mandate of promoting economic integration in all fields of activity of the constituting countries, set up to foster the ideal of collective self-sufficiency for its member states. As a trading union, it is also meant to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation. 

For more information on regulatory departments and quality control laboratories’ contact details, please see the following links: 

4.1 Nigeria Government Contact List

4.3 Nigeria Laboratory and Quality Testing Companies Contact List