List of heads of state of Nigeria

This is a list of the heads of state of Nigeria, from the independence of Federation of Nigeria in 1960 to the present day.

From 1960 to 1963 the head of state under the Nigeria Independence Act 1960 was the Queen of Nigeria, Elizabeth II, who was also monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen was represented in Nigeria by a Governor-General. Nigeria became a republic under the Constitution of 1963 and the monarch and Governor-General were replaced by a ceremonial President. In 1979, under the 1979 Constitution, the President gained executive powers, becoming head of both state and government. Since 1994, under the 1993 Constitution and the current 1999 Constitution, the head of state and government has been called the President.

Monarchs (1960–1963)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Queen			Reign			Royal House	Prime Minister
№	Portrait	Name	Start	End	Duration
1		Elizabeth II (1926–)	1 October 1960	1 October 1963	3 years, 0 days	Windsor	Balewa

Governors-General

Standard of the Governor-General of Nigeria

The Governor-General was the representative of the monarch in Nigeria and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The Governor-General was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Nigerian cabinet without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice would have served as Officer Administering the Government.

Governor-General			Term of office			Monarch	Prime Minister
№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Sir James Robertson (1899–1983)	1 October 1960	16 November 1960	46 days	Elizabeth II	Balewa
2		Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996)	16 November 1960	1 October 1963	2 years, 319 days	Elizabeth II	Balewa

First Republic (1963–1966)

Under the 1963 Constitution, the first constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, the President replaced 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.

President			Term of office			Political party (at time of election)	Prime Minister(s)
№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996)	1 October 1963	16 January 1966 (deposed.)	2 years, 107 days	National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons	Balewa

Military rule (1966–1979)

Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu led a coup d'état in 1966 which overthrew President Azikiwe and his government.

Head of State			Term of Office			Military
№	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
2		Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966)	16 January 1966	12 July 1966 (assassinated.)	177 days	Federal Military Government
3		General Yakubu Gowon (1934–)	1 August 1966	29 July 1975 (deposed.)	8 years, 362 days	Federal Military Government
4		General Murtala Mohammed (1938–1976)	29 July 1975	13 February 1976 (assassinated.)	199 days	Federal Military Government
5		Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo (1937–)	13 February 1976	1 October 1979 (resigned.)	3 years, 258 days	Federal Military Government

Second Republic (1979–1983)

Under the 1979 Constitution, the second constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, the President was head of both state and government. The President was elected by for a four-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Vice President would have served as Acting President.

President			Term of office			Political party (at time of election)
№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
6		Shehu Shagari (1925–)	1 October 1979	31 December 1983 (deposed.)	4 years, 91 days	National Party of Nigeria

Military rule (1983–1993)

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari led a coup d'état which overthrew then-President Shagari and his government.

Head of State			Term of Office			Military
№	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
7		Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (1942–)	31 December 1983	27 August 1985 (deposed.)	1 year, 239 days	Supreme Military Council
8		General Ibrahim Babangida (1941–)	27 August 1985	26 August 1993 (resigned.)	7 years, 364 days	Armed Forces Ruling Council

Third Republic (1993)

The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution.

The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989, when General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB), the military Head of State, promised to terminate military rule by 1990 – a date which was subsequently pushed back to 1993. IBB lifted the ban on political activity in the spring of 1989, and his government established two political parties: the center-right National Republican Convention (NRC) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). Gubernatorial and state legislative elections were conducted in December 1991, while the presidential election was postponed till 12 June 1993 – due to political unrest. M. K. O. Abiola, a wealthy Yoruba businessman, won a decisive victory in the presidential elections on the SDP platm.

President			Term of office			Political party (at time of election)
№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
9		Ernest Shonekan (1936–)	26 August 1993	17 November 1993 (deposed.)	83 days	Independent

Military rule (1993–1999)

General Sani Abacha led a coup d'état which overthrown President Shonekan and his government.

Head of State			Term of Office			Military
№	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
10		General Sani Abacha (1943–1998)	17 November 1993	8 June 1998 (died in office.)	4 years, 203 days	Provisional Ruling Council
11		General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1942–)	8 June 1998	29 May 1999 (resigned.)	355 days	Provisional Ruling Council

Fourth Nigerian Republic

Under the fourth Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, the President is head of both state and government. The President is elected by for a four-year term. In the event of a vacancy the Vice President serves as Acting President.

Status

  Denotes Vice President acting as President

President			Term of office			Political party (at time of election)
№	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Duration
12		Olusegun Obasanjo (1937–)	29 May 1999	29 May 2007	8 years, 0 days	People's Democratic Party
13		Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (1951–2010)	29 May 2007	5 May 2010[1] (died in office.)	2 years, 341 days	People's Democratic Party
14		Goodluck Jonathan (1957–)	5 May 2010	29 May 2015	5 years, 25 days	People's Democratic Party
15		Muhammadu Buhari (1942–)	29 May 2015	Incumbent	347 days (as of 10 May 2016)	All Progressives Congress

Living former heads of state

Name	Term/Reign	Office	Date of birth
Elizabeth II	1952–1961	Queen of Nigeria	April 21, 1926
Yakubu Gowon	1966–1975	Military ruler	October 19, 1934
Olusegun Obasanjo	1976–1979 1999–2007	Military ruler President of Nigeria	March 5, 1937
Shehu Shagari	1979–1983	President of Nigeria	February 25, 1925
Ibrahim Babangida	1985–1993	Military ruler	August 17, 1941
Ernest Shonekan	1993	President of Nigeria	May 9, 1936
Abdulsalami Abubakar	1998–1999	Military ruler	June 13, 1942
Goodluck Jonathan	2010–2015	President of Nigeria	November 20, 1957

Notes

1. Goodluck Jonathan was Acting President from 9 February to 5 May 2010

External links

• World Statesmen – Nigeria
• Rulers.org – Nigeria