Nijeriya ita ce Jamhuriya ta Tarayya da aka yi wa kwatankwacin Amurka, tare da ikon zartarwa, wanda Shugaban ƙasa ke amfani da shi. Samfurin tsarin Westminster System faɗar da ake buƙata] ya rinjaye shi a cikin tsarawa da gudanarwa na manya da ƙananan majalisun dokokin majalissar.
Shugaban ƙasar duka shugaban ƙasa ne, kuma shugaban gwamnatin tarayya; ana zaɓen shugaba ne ta hanyar jefa ƙuri’a zuwa matsakaicin shekaru biyu na shekaru huɗu(zango biyu). Majalisar dattijai da ta wakilai ne ke bincikar ikon shugaban, waɗanda aka haɗa su a cikin majalisun biyu da ake kira Majalisar Ƙasa. Majalisar Dattijai tana da kujeru 109 tare da mambobi uku daga kowace jiha da kuma ɗaya daga babban birnin tarayya Abuja; ana zabar mambobi ta hanyar jefa ƙuri’a zuwa wa’adin shekaru hudu. Gidan ya ƙunshi kujeru 360, tare da yawan kujerun kowace jiha ta yawan jama’a.
Rikicin ƙabilanci, da fitinar addini, da kuma nuna fin ƙarfi, sun shafi siyasar Nijeriya gaba da wacce ta biyo baya ga samun ‘yanci a shekarar 1960. Duk manyan jam’iyyun sun yi amfani da magudin zaɓe da kuma wasu hanyoyin tilastawa don ci gaba da fafatawa. A lokacin kafin zaben 1983, wani rahoto na masana wanda Cibiyar Nazarin Manufofin Ƙasa da Nazari ta Kasa ta shirya ya nuna cewa kawai zaɓen 1959 da 1979 ne aka gudanar ba tare da maguɗi ba.
A shekarar 2012, an ƙiyasta Nijeriya ta yi asarar sama da Dala biliyan 400 ga cin hanci da rashawa tun bayan samun ‘yancin kai. Son zuciya ya shiga cikin siyasar Nijeriya, wanda ya haifar da kokarin kabilanci don tattara ikon Tarayya zuwa wani yanki na abubuwan da suke so.
Hausa-Fulani, Yarbawa da Igbo su ne manyan ƙabilu uku a Nijeriya kuma sun ci gaba da zama masu martaba a tarihin siyasar Nijeriya; gasa tsakanin waɗannan ƙungiyoyin guda uku ta haifar da gaba. Biyo bayan yaƙin basasar da aka zubar da jini, kishin ƙasa ya samu ƙaruwa a yankin Kudancin kasar, wanda hakan ke haifar da masu yunƙurin ɓallewa kamar su: Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) da Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).
Saboda lamuran da suka gabata, jam’iyyun siyasar Nijeriya suna da ra’ayin ƙasa-da-ƙasa kuma ba su da addini (duk da cewa wannan ba zai hana ci gaba da fifikon manyan ƙabilun ba). Manyan jam’iyyun siyasa biyu su ne Jam’iyyar People’s Democratic Party da All Progressive Congress tare da ƙananan jam’iyyun adawa guda ashirin dake da rajista. Kamar yadda yake a cikin sauran al’ummomin Afirka da yawa, tsarin mulkin ƙasa da yawan cin hanci da rashawa na ci gaba da zama manyan ƙalubale ga Najeriya.
