Nigeria's federalism is often considered a flaw along the standard test of the Classical federalism ideology labelled along with

The standard test of the Classical federalism ideology is usually associated with K.C. Wheare, a political scientist who studied federal systems. Nigeria's federalism is often considered a flaw according to this standard because it does not adhere to the principles of federalism as defined by Wheare. In a classical federal system, power is divided between a central government and the constituent units (such as states or provinces), and each level of government has autonomy in its own sphere. Wheare identified four key features of federalism: a written constitution, a distribution of powers between the central and constituent units, independence of each level of government, and a judiciary that interprets the constitution and settles disputes. Nigeria's federal system, on the other hand, does not fully adhere to these principles. The central government has historically held more power than the constituent units, and there has been a history of interference in state affairs. Additionally, the judiciary has not always been fully independent, and there have been instances of federal intervention in state judicial matters. Overall, Nigeria's federal system has been criticized for being too centralized and not adhering to the principles of classical federalism as defined by K.C. Wheare.