List of heads of state of Nigeria

This is a list of the heads of state of Nigeria, from Nigeria's independence 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 federal 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.

Monarch (1960–1963)

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

Queen			Reign			Royal House	Prime Minister
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Start	End	Duration
1		Elizabeth II (born 1926)	1 October 1960	1 October 1963	3 years	Windsor	Balewa

Governor-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. Since Nigeria was granted independence by the Nigeria Independence Act 1960, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous Dominion and later promoted to independence by 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, with the sole of exception of James Robertson, the former colonial governor, who served as Governor-General temporarily until he was replaced by Nnamdi Azikiwe. 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
No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	Sir James Robertson (1899–1983)	1 October 1960	16 November 1960	46 days	Elizabeth II	Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)
2	Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996)	16 November 1960	1 October 1963	2 years, 319 days	Elizabeth II	Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)

First Republic (1963–1966)

Under the 1963 Constitution, the first constitution of the 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 Prime Minister was formed by the leader of the party that won the election. The first federal election was won by the Northern People's Congress led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. 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	Prime Minister
No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996)	1 October 1963	16 January 1966	2 years, 107 days	National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons	Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)

Military rule (1966–1979)

In 1966, Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu led a bloody coup d'état in 1966 which overthrew the First Nigerian Republic, assassinating Premier Ahmadu Bello and Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Head of state			Term of office			Military
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |2		Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966)	16 January 1966	29 July 1966 (assassinated.)	194 days	Federal Military Government
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |3		General Yakubu Gowon (born 1934)	1 August 1966	29 July 1975 (deposed.)	8 years, 362 days	Federal Military Government
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |4		General Murtala Mohammed (1938–1976)	29 July 1975	13 February 1976 (assassinated.)	199 days	Federal Military Government
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |5		Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo (born 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			Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)		Took office	Left office	Time in office
6		Shehu Shagari (1925–2018)	1979 1983	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 President Shagari and his government.

Head of state			Term of office			Military
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |7		Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (born 1942)	31 December 1983	27 August 1985 (deposed.)	1 year, 239 days	Supreme Military Council
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |8	File:GENERAL IBRAHIM BADAMASI BABANGIDA.jpg	General Ibrahim Babangida (born 1941)	27 August 1985	26 August 1993 (resigned.)	7 years, 364 days	Armed Forces Ruling Council

Interim National Government (1993)

Following the annulment of the 1993 Nigerian presidential election which terminated the transition to the Third Nigerian Republic. In August 1993, Babangida resigned from office. He signed a decree establishing the Interim National Government led by Ernest Shonekan. Babangida made the interim government weak by placing it under the control of the military.

President		Term of office			Political party (at time of start of term
No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;" |9	Ernest Shonekan (born 1936)	26 August 1993	17 November 1993 (deposed.)	83 days	Independent

Military rule (1993–1999)

In November 1993, General Sani Abacha overthrew the interim government, and ruled the country with an iron fist. In 1998, following Abacha's death, General Abdulsalami Abubakar became head of state and ushered in the Fourth Nigerian Republic.

Head of state			Term of office			Military
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |10		General Sani Abacha (1943–1998)	17 November 1993	8 June 1998 (died in office.)	4 years, 203 days	Provisional Ruling Council
style="background:Template:Military rule/meta/color; color:black;" |11		General Abdulsalami Abubakar (born 1942)	8 June 1998	29 May 1999 (resigned.)	355 days	Provisional Ruling Council

Fourth Republic (1999–present)

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			Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name		Took office	Left office	Time in office
style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)/meta/color; color:white;" |12		Olusegun Obasanjo (1937–)	1999 2003	29 May 1999	29 May 2007	8 years	People's Democratic Party
style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)/meta/color; color:white;" |13		Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (1951–2010)	2007	29 May 2007	5 May 2010 (died in office.)	2 years, 341 days	People's Democratic Party
style="background:Template:People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)/meta/color; color:white;" |14		Goodluck Jonathan (1957–)	2011	5 May 2010	29 May 2015	5 years, 25 days	People's Democratic Party
style="background:Template:All Progressives Congress/meta/color; color:white;" |15		Muhammadu Buhari (1942–)	2015 2019	29 May 2015	Incumbent	9 years, 160 days	All Progressives Congress

Living former heads of state of Nigeria

Name	Term/Reign	Office	Date of birth
Elizabeth II	1960–1963	Queen of Nigeria	April 21, 1926 (age 93)
Yakubu Gowon	1966–1975	Military ruler	(1934-10-19) October 19, 1934
Olusegun Obasanjo	1976–1979 1999–2007	Military ruler President of Nigeria	(1937-03-05) March 5, 1937
Muhammadu Buhari	1983–1985 2015–present	Military ruler President of Nigeria	(1942-12-17) December 17, 1942
Ibrahim Babangida	1985–1993	Military ruler	(1941-08-17) August 17, 1941
Ernest Shonekan	1993	Interim president	(1936-05-09) May 9, 1936
Abdulsalami Abubakar	1998–1999	Military ruler	(1942-06-13) June 13, 1942
Goodluck Jonathan	2010–2015	President of Nigeria	(1957-11-20) November 20, 1957

External links

• State House of the Federal Republic of Nigeria