List of presidents of Nigeria

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Seal of the president
Presidential flag Flag of the President of Nigeria.svg
Presidential flag

The president of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of Nigeria, directly elected to a four-year term. Under the Nigerian Constitution, the officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. [1] After the Independence of Nigeria on 1 October 1960, the first head of state was the queen of Nigeria Elizabeth II, who was also the monarch of other Commonwealth realms; she was represented by a governor-general. Nigeria became a republic under the 1963 constitution and the queen was replaced by a president; [2] Nnamdi Azikiwe, the second governor-general after independence became the first president. [3] Azikiwe shared power with the elected Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. [4] Shehu Shagari was the first elected president of Nigeria. [5] The incumbent president is Bola Tinubu, who assumed office on 29 May 2023. [6] [7] Since the office was established in 1963, 14 men have served in 16 presidencies; the discrepancy arises from two individuals who served two non-consecutive terms; as military head of states and as elected presidents: Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari. [8]

Contents

The interim government of Ernest Shonekan, who was deposed 83 days after taking office in 1993, was the shortest in Nigeria's history. [9] Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, who served 194 days in office, was the shortest ruled military head of state. Yakubu Gowon served as the longest, for almost nine years, before being deposed in 1975 while he was away from the country. [10] Olusegun Obasanjo served as the longest ruled president, for eleven years, two hundred and thirty days; of his combined two terms. [11]

Four heads of state died in office: two were assassinated during a military coup (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi [12] and Murtala Muhammed [13] ) and two died of natural causes (Sani Abacha and Umaru Musa Yar'Adua [14] ). Five heads of state were deposed in a military coup (Nnamdi Azikiwe, Yakubu Gowon, Shehu Shagari, Muhammadu Buhari and Ernest Shonekan). Obasanjo and Abdulsalami Abubakar resigned after Nigeria's transition to democracy in 1979 and 1999 respectively, while Ibrahim Babangida was forced to resign after he cancelled the 1993 presidential election, which SDP candidate Moshood Abiola reportedly won. [15] Obasanjo was the first vice president (called chief of staff) to become head of state following the 1976 military coup attempt, [16] while Goodluck Jonathan was the first democratically elected vice president to become president after Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010. [17] [18]

First Republic (1963–1966)

The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution. The country's government was based on a federal form of the Westminster system. The period between 1 October 1960, when the country gained its independence and 15 January 1966, when the first military coup d’état took place, is also generally referred to as the First Republic. The first Republic of Nigeria was ruled by different leaders representing their regions as premiers in a federation during this period.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical party Prime minister(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
1 Nnamdi Azikiwe PC (cropped).jpg Nnamdi Azikiwe [a]
(1904–1996)
1 October 196316 January 19662 years, 107 days National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Military Government (1966–1979)

The military dictatorship in Nigeria was a period when members of the Nigerian Armed Forces held power in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999 with an interregnum from 1979 to 1983. The military was able to rise to power often with the tacit support of the elite through coup d'états. Since the country became a republic in 1963, there had been a series of military coups.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical party Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
2 Major Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi Ironsi (cropped).jpg Major general
Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi
(1924–1966)
16 January 1966 29 July 1966  X 194 days Supreme Military Council Babafemi Ogundipe
3 Gen. Yakubu Gowon GCFR (cropped).jpg General
Yakubu Gowon
(born 1934)
1 August 196629 July 19758 years, 362 days Supreme Military Council J. E. A. Wey [19]
4 Gen. Murtala Muhammed (cropped).jpg General
Murtala Muhammed
(1938–1976)
29 July 197513 February 1976  X 199 days Supreme Military Council Olusegun Obasanjo
5 Obasanjo 1978.gif General
Olusegun Obasanjo
(born 1937)
13 February 19761 October 19793 years, 230 days Supreme Military Council Shehu Musa Yar'Adua

Second Republic (1979–1983)

The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical partyElected Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
6 President Sharari cropped.jpg Shehu Shagari [b]
(1925–2018)
1 October 197931 December 19834 years, 91 days National Party of Nigeria 1979
1983
Alex Ekwueme

Military Government (1983–1993)

The military dictatorship in Nigeria was a period when members of the Nigerian Armed Forces held power in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999 with an interregnum from 1979 to 1983. The military was able to rise to power often with the tacit support of the elite through coup d'états. Since the country became a republic in 1963, there had been a series of military coups.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical party Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
7 Nigerian Public Domain 144.jpg Major General
Muhammadu Buhari [c]
(1942–2025)
31 December 198327 August 19851 year, 239 days Supreme Military Council Tunde Idiagbon
8 Nigerian Public Domain 145.jpg General
Ibrahim Babangida
(born 1941)
27 August 198526 August 19937 years, 364 days Armed Forces Ruling Council Ebitu Ukiwe
Augustus Aikhomu

Third Nigerian Republic (1993)

The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1992, intended to operate under the Third Republican Constitution. [20] The political framework of the proposed republic included democratically elected state governors, state assemblies, and a National Assembly serving as the federal legislature. However, the system was not fully democratic, as there was no democratically elected President.

The transition programme initiated by then-President Ibrahim Babangida was later perceived as a strategy to retain executive authority while conferring only limited legislative powers on the National Assembly. Under this arrangement, all bills passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives required approval from the National Defence and Security Council before receiving presidential assent.

Although Babangida adopted the title of "President"—a departure from the "Head of State" designation used by earlier military rulers—he repeatedly postponed the conduct of presidential elections. The election eventually held on 12 June 1993 was annulled by his administration.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical party Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
9 Ambassador Bob Dewar with Ernest Shonekan (3509232597) (cropped).jpg Ernest Shonekan [d]
(1936–2022)
26 August 199317 November 199383 days Independent

Military Government (1993–1999)

The military dictatorship in Nigeria was a period when members of the Nigerian Armed Forces held power in Nigeria from 1966 to 1999 with an interregnum from 1979 to 1983. The military was able to rise to power often with the tacit support of the elite through coup d'états. Since the country became a republic in 1963, there had been a series of military coups.
No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical party Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
10 Gen. Sani Abacha GCON (cropped).jpg General
Sani Abacha [e]
(1943–1998)
17 November 19938 June 19984 years, 203 daysProvisional Ruling Council Oladipo Diya
11 Abdulsalami Abubakar detail DF-SC-02-04323.jpg General
Abdulsalami Abubakar
(born 1942)
9 June 199829 May 1999354 daysProvisional Ruling Council Michael Akhigbe

Fourth Republic (1999–present)

No.PortraitName
(lifespan)
Term of officePolitical partyElected Vice president(s) Ref.
Took officeLeft officeTime in office
12 Olusegun Obasanjo 1-2.jpg Olusegun Obasanjo
(born 1937)
29 May 199929 May 20078 years, 0 days People's Democratic Party 1999
2003
Atiku Abubakar
13 Umaru Yar'Adua 2007-06-07.jpg Umaru Musa Yar'Adua
(1951–2010)
29 May 20075 May 20102 years, 341 days People's Democratic Party 2007 Goodluck Jonathan
14 Goodluck Jonathan World Economic Forum 2013.jpg Goodluck Jonathan
(born 1957)
6 May 201029 May 20155 years, 23 days People's Democratic Party 2011 Namadi Sambo [22]
15 Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (cropped).jpg Muhammadu Buhari
(1942–2025)
29 May 201529 May 20238 years, 0 days All Progressives Congress 2015
2019
Yemi Osinbajo [23]
16 Bola Tinubu portrait.jpg Bola Tinubu
(born 1952)
29 May 2023Incumbent2 years, 77 days All Progressives Congress 2023 Kashim Shettima

Timeline

Bola TinubuGoodluck JonathanUmaru Musa Yar'AduaAbdulsalami AbubakarSani AbachaErnest ShonekanIbrahim BabangidaMuhammadu BuhariShehu ShagariOlusegun ObasanjoMurtala MuhammedYakubu GowonJohnson Aguiyi-IronsiNnamdi AzikiweList of presidents of Nigeria

See also

References

Notes

  1. Under the 1963 Constitution of the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966), the first constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Nigeria ran the parliamentary system of government with a prime minister and the president replacing the monarch as ceremonial head of state. The president was elected by Parliament for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy the president of the Senate would have served as acting president.
  2. Under the 1979 Constitution of the Second Nigerian Republic (1979–1983), the President was both head of state and government. In the event of a vacancy the vice president would have served as acting president.
  3. Muhammadu Buhari was made military head of state following the coup d'ètat of 1983, which overthrew the Second Republic and gave rise to Military dictatorship in Nigeria from 1983 to 1993.
  4. Chief Ernest Shonekan became the interim head of state following the crisis of the Third Republic.
  5. General Sani Abacha led the palace coup d'ètat of 1993 which overthrew the Interim National Government.

Citations

  1. "EXCLUSIVE: Don't call me Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Jonathan tells Nigerians". Premium Times . Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  2. Sylvans, Winston (9 September 2022). "Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II was monarch over Nigeria until October 1, 1963?". Nairametrics . Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  3. Faal, Courtney (9 May 2009). "Benjamin Nnamdi "Zik" Azikiwe (1904–1996)". BlackPast . Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  4. "From Balewa To Tinubu: Historical guide on Nigeria's 16 leaders since independence". Premium Times . Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  5. "Nigeria's first executive president, Shehu Shagari, dies aged 93". Africanews . 28 December 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  6. "Bola Tinubu sworn in as Nigeria's president, succeeds Buhari". Al Jazeera . 29 May 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  7. Odeniyi, Solomon; Sanusi, Abiodun; Blankson, Esther (18 May 2023). "Tinubu's inauguration: Programmes begin Thursday, FG invites over 65 world leaders". The Punch . Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  8. Akinpelu, Yusuf. "ANALYSIS: From bullet to ballot: 14 men who have led Nigeria since independence". Premium Times . Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  9. "Nigerian Military Leader Ousts Interim President". The New York Times . 18 November 1993.
  10. "Gowon Ousted in Nigeria; Coup ends Nine-Year Rule". The New York Times . 30 July 1975.
  11. "Olusegun Obasanjo: Nigeria's Three-Time President". The Guardian . 5 March 2019.
  12. "Nigerians Confirm Slaying of Ironsi". The New York Times . 15 January 1967.
  13. "Nigeria Confirms Killing of Leader". The New York Times. 15 February 1976.
  14. "Nigeria's president Yar'Adua dies".
  15. "June 12 presidential election was annulled to prevent coup - Babangida". 6 August 2021.
  16. "Nigeria Confirms Killing of Leader". The New York Times. 15 February 1976.
  17. "Nigeria's president Yar'Adua dies".
  18. Hoffmann, Leena Koni (28 June 2022). "Democracy in Nigeria". Chatham House . Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  19. Kasuka, Bridgette (April 2013). Prominent African Leaders Since Independence. New Africa Press. ISBN   978-9987-16-026-6.
  20. "NIGERIA: parliamentary elections Senate, 1992". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  21. "June 12, NASS and Nigeria's Fourth Republic". Punch Newspapers. 12 June 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  22. Purefoy, Christian (19 April 2011). "Widespread election violence erupts in Nigeria". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  23. "BREAKING: Buhari declares June 12 Democracy Day to honour Abiola". Premium Times Nigeria. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2019.