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. 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; Nnamdi Azikiwe, the second governor-general after independence became the first president. Azikiwe shared power with the elected Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Shehu Shagari was the first elected president of Nigeria. The incumbent president is Bola Tinubu, who assumed office on 29 May 2023. 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.
The interim government of Ernest Shonekan, who was deposed 83 days after taking office in 1993, was the shortest in Nigeria's history. 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. Olusegun Obasanjo served as the longest ruled president, for eleven years, two hundred and thirty days; of his combined two terms.
Four heads of state died in office: two were assassinated during a military coup (Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi and Murtala Muhammed) and two died of natural causes (Sani Abacha and Umaru Musa Yar'Adua). 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. Obasanjo was the first vice president (called chief of staff) to become head of state following the 1976 military coup attempt, while Goodluck Jonathan was the first democratically elected vice president to become president after Yar'Adua died on 5 May 2010.
First Republic (1963–1966)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Prime minister(s) Took office Left office Time in office1 Nnamdi Azikiwe National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Military Government (1966–1979)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office2 Major generalJohnson Aguiyi-Ironsi 16 January 1966 Supreme Military Council Babafemi Ogundipe 3 GeneralYakubu Gowon Supreme Military Council J. E. A. Wey 4 GeneralMurtala Muhammed Supreme Military Council Olusegun Obasanjo 5 GeneralOlusegun Obasanjo Supreme Military Council Shehu Musa Yar'Adua
Second Republic (1979–1983)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office6 Shehu Shagari National Party of Nigeria19791983 Alex Ekwueme
Military Government (1983–1993)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office7 Major GeneralMuhammadu Buhari Supreme Military Council Tunde Idiagbon 8 GeneralIbrahim Babangida Armed Forces Ruling Council Ebitu UkiweAugustus Aikhomu
Third Nigerian Republic (1993)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office9 Ernest Shonekan Independent
Military Government (1993–1999)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office10 GeneralSani Abacha Provisional Ruling Council Oladipo Diya 11 GeneralAbdulsalami Abubakar Provisional Ruling Council Michael Akhigbe
Fourth Republic (1999–present)
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Vice president(s) Took office Left office Time in office12 Olusegun Obasanjo People's Democratic Party19992003 Atiku Abubakar 13 Umaru Musa Yar'Adua People's Democratic Party2007 Goodluck Jonathan 14 Goodluck Jonathan People's Democratic Party2011 Namadi Sambo 15 Muhammadu Buhari All Progressives Congress20152019 Yemi Osinbajo 16 Bola Tinubu Incumbent All Progressives Congress2023 Kashim Shettima
Timeline
See also List of traditional titles borne by the heads of state of Nigeria
References Notes
Citations
External links