List of heads of state of Nigeria

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

Queen			Reign			Royal house	Prime minister	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Start	End	Duration
1		Elizabeth II (born 1926)	1 October 1960	1 October 1963	3 years	Windsor	Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Governor-general

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	Ref.
No.	Portrait	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	Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)
2		Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (1904–1996)	16 November 1960	1 October 1963	2 years, 319 days	Elizabeth II	Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–1966)

Under the 1963 Constitution, 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 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	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Dr. 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)

Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu orchestrated the bloody military coup d'état of 1966 which overthrew the First Republic.

Head of state			Term of office			Military	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
2		Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi (1924–1966)	16 January 1966	29 July 1966 (assassinated.)	194 days	Federal Military Government
3		General Yakubu Gowon (born 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 (born 1937)	13 February 1976	1 October 1979 (resigned.)	3 years	Federal Military Government

Under the 1979 Constitution, the second constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President was both head of state and government. The president was elected 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	Cabinet	Elected	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
6		Alhaji Shehu Shagari (1925–2018)	1 October 1979	31 December 1983 (deposed.)	4 years, 91 days	National Party of Nigeria	Shagari	1979 1983

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was made military head of state following the coup d'ètat of 1983, which overthrew the Second Republic.

Head of state/ President			Term of office			Military	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
7		Major General Muhammadu Buhari (born 1942)	31 December 1983	27 August 1985 (deposed.)	1 year, 239 days	Supreme Military Council
8		General Ibrahim Babangida (born 1941)	27 August 1985	26 August 1993 (resigned.)	7 years, 364 days	Armed Forces Ruling Council

Chief Ernest Shonekan was made interim head of state of Nigeria following the crisis of the Third Republic.

Interim Head of State			Term of office			Political party (at time of start of term)	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
9		Chief Ernest Shonekan (1936–2022)	26 August 1993	17 November 1993 (deposed.)	83 days	Independent

General Sani Abacha led the palace coup d'ètat of 1993 which overthrew the Interim National Government.

Head of state			Term of office			Military	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
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 (born 1942)	8 June 1998	29 May 1999 (resigned.)	355 days	Provisional Ruling Council

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.

President			Term of office			Political party	Cabinet	Elected	Ref.
No.	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
12		Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (born 1937)	29 May 1999	29 May 2007	8 years, 0 days	People's Democratic Party	Obasanjo	1999 2003
13		Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (1951–2010)	29 May 2007	5 May 2010[lower-alpha 1] (died in office)	2 years, 341 days	People's Democratic Party	Yar'Adua	2007
14		Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (born 1957)	5 May 2010	29 May 2015	5 years, 25 days	People's Democratic Party	Jonathan I–II	2011
15		Muhammadu Buhari (born 1942)	29 May 2015	Incumbent	6 years, 342 days	All Progressives Congress	Buhari I–II	2015 2019