President of Nigeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nigeria |
 This article is part of the series: |
|
|
|
Other countries · Politics Portal |
The President of Nigeria is the elected head of government and head of state of Nigeria. Officially styled President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander in chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces When Nigeria became a federal republic within the Commonwealth in 1963, it retained the parliamentary system of government inherited from the British. Nnamdi Azikiwe, previously Governor General, became President, which was a ceremonial post, while Abubakar Tafawa Balewa remained Prime Minister.
However, in 1966 the military in Nigeria seized power, establishing a federal military dictatorship, and civilian rule was not restored until 1979.
Under the new constitution, modelled on that of the United States, the office of President was an executive post, but in 1983 the military once again seized power. Although elections were held in 1993, the military government of Ibrahim Babangida annulled the election results presumed to have been won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, a wealthy industrialist. Abiola later died in capitivity, hours before he was expected to have been released. Civilian rule was not fully restored until 1999.
[edit] Republicanism in Nigeria
- Nigerian First Republic (1963 - 1966)
- Nigerian Second Republic (1979 - 1983)
- Nigerian Third Republic (1993)
- Nigerian Fourth Republic (1999 - present)
[edit] Presidential Elections In Nigeria
| Parties - Candidates | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Olusegun Fajinmi Aremu Obasanjo - People's Democratic Party | 61.9 | ||
| Muhammadu Buhari - All Nigeria People's Party | 32.2 | ||
| Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu - All Progressives Grand Alliance | 3.3 | ||
| Total (turnout 69.1 %) | 100.0 | ||
| Source: Independent National Electoral Commission | |||
[edit] List of heads of state of Nigeria
This page contains a list of presidents and other heads of state of Nigeria since 1963. See also:
[edit] Prime Ministers of Nigeria, 1960-1966
[edit] Presidents of Nigeria, 1963-1966
[edit] Heads of the Federal Military Government of Nigeria, 1966-1979
- Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi: 16 January - 29 July 1966
- Yakubu Gowon: 1 August 1966 - 29 July 1975
- Murtala Mohammed: 29 July 1975 - 13 February 1976
- Olusegun Obasanjo: 13 February 1976 - 1 October 1979
[edit] Presidents of Nigeria, 1979-1983
[edit] Chairmen of the Supreme Military Council of Nigeria, 1983-1985
[edit] Presidents of the Armed Forces Ruling Council of Nigeria, 1985-1993
[edit] Interim Heads of State of Nigeria, 1993
[edit] Chairmen of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria, 1993-1999
- Sani Abacha: 17 November 1993 - 8 June 1998
- Abdulsalami Abubakar: 8 June 1998 - 29 May 1999 - Like a repetition of the 1975 occurences which saw then General Obasanjo became head of state, Abubakar also reluctantly replace Abacha who died in the State house and instantly began a transitional program to restore the country to civilian rule. Having promised not to exceed 1 year on the seat of power, he accomplished this promise 10 days before his anniversary and Olusegun Obasanjo who has won the 27 February 1999 general elections was inaugurate in what the whole world acclaimed as accepted manner for the entrenchment of democracy in Nigeria. Abubakar retired to his Minna Home since then and had stayed as possibly away from governance.
[edit] Presidents of Nigeria 1999-present
- Olusegun Obasanjo: 29 May 1999 - Is expected to handover power to a succeeding elected president by 29 May 2007 when he will complete his second term of his present rule. Coming to power in an election overseen by the military government after 15 years in power seeing 3 different army generals and 1 interim president, Obasanjo won a second term of another 4 years in office in 2003 and was re-inaugurated. He kept the same Vice president, Atiku Abubakar whom he has fallen out with and announced his sack on 21 December 2006 while the latter was on vacation in the United States of America. Although Obasanjo did not express in his words his decision to remain in power, suspicions are that he engineered the massive campaign calling for a truncation of the administration which involved a near-amendment of the constitution to accommodate and legalise that a third term. This is believed to be one of the reasons of the bickering between the president and his deputy who refused to the support that move. In October 2005, Obasanjo lost his wife, Stella Obasanjo who was said to be in France for cosmetic surgery, although he is reputed to have many other wives. Obasanjo's administration has seen various reshufflement of cabinet ministers over time the most prominent and worst condemned being the transfer of the renowned World Bank Economist, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from the Ministry of Finance to Foreign affairs which is believed to have led to her resignation 6 weeks after on 3 August 2006. The People's Democratic Party (PDP), on whose party Obasanjo came to power, has recently nominated Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, a current governor of of one of the northern states as the flagbearer for the next general election scheduled to hold in April. Mr. Yar'Adua will succeed Obasanjo if he wins other contestants from other parties.
