Top 10 Longest-Serving Presidents in Nigeria’s History

Who are the longest-serving presidents in Nigeria? The West African country has had 13 different individuals who have ruled since it became a republic in 1963. Some of these leaders have spent their stipulated maximum tenure of two years in office, while some, on the other hand, were overthrown.

In this article, we will highlight the top 10 longest-serving presidents in Nigeria so far.

10. Nnamdi Azikiwe

Duration- 2 Years, 107 days

Nnamdi Azikiwe is one of the presidents with the shortest tenures in Nigeria. He became the Governor General on November 16, 1960, with Abubakar Tafawa Balewa serving alongside as Prime Minister. Azikiwe automatically became Nigeria’s first President after the proclamation of the country as a republic in 1963.

He was however removed from power, following a military coup on January 15, 1966. His tenure lasted for only 2 years and 107 days.

9. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua

Duration of Tenure- 2 Years, 341 days

Yar’Adua is another Nigerian president whose tenure was cut short by the unfortunate hands of death. He was declared the winner of the April 2007 presidential election and was sworn in on May 29, 2007. The election was highly controversial at the time. He reigned as Nigerian president for two years and 341 days from 2007 to 2010.

Before then, he served as the governor of Katsina state (1999 – 2007) under the aegis of one of Nigeria’s leading parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). As the president in 2009 however, Yar’Adua left Nigeria for Saudi Arabia to receive treatment for pericarditis. He returned to Nigeria on February 24, 2010, and died on May 5, the same year.

8. General Olusegun Obasanjo

Duration- 3 Years, 8 Months

General Olusegun Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military leader/Head of State from 1976 to 1979. In 1975, a junta was established, with Obasanjo as one of its ruling triumvirate. However, after the assassination of the triumvirate’s leader, Murtala Muhammed, Obasanjo was appointed the Head of State by the Supreme Military Council.

His regime lasted for 3 years and 8 months. Obasanjo is one of the Nigerian leaders who ruled the country both as a military head of State and as a democratic leader.

7. Shehu Shagari

Duration- 4 Years, 91 Days

Next on our list of longest-serving presidents in Nigeria is Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s first democratically elected president. Shagari was the first president to exercise full executive powers after the transfer of power by the General Olusegun Obasanjo- led Government. His government gave rise to the second republic.

Shagari’s tenure lasted for 4 years and 91 days, making him the 7th longest-serving president in Nigeria’s history. During his tenure, he presided over the mass deportation of West African migrants in 1983, highly impacting Ghanian migrants in Nigeria. Shagari died at 93 in 2018.

6. General Sani Abacha

Duration- 4 Years, 203 Days

General Sani Abacha ruled Nigeria as military head of state from 1993 to 1998 when he died. He seized power on November 17 1993 after staging a successful coup d’etat, overthrowing Chief Ernest Shonekan’s transitional government.

Before he became president, he was the Chief of Army Staff from 1985 to 1990 and the chief of Defence Staff from 1990 to 1993 when he came into power. During his tenure as the national leader, several economic feats were recorded, however, he is named a kleptocrat and dictator to date.

5. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Duration- 5 Years, 25 days

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan holds a record for being the first Nigerian sitting president to lose an election. He was the vice president of Nigeria during the reign of president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from 2007-2010. Upon the demise of Yar’Adua in 2010 however, Jonathan was sworn in as the acting President in accordance with the order of succession in Nigeria’s constitution.

After completing Yar’Adua’s tenure, he contested and won the 2011 general elections against Muhammadu Buhari. The next elections in 2015 led to his loss to Buhari.

4. General Ibrahim Babangida

Duration- 7 Years, 364 Days

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida GCFR is a retired Nigerian Army general who served as the country’s military president from 1985 to 1993. He is one of the national leaders who stepped into power via a coup d’etat.

Babangida was the Chief of Army Staff and a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) under General Muhammadu Buhari’s brief administration. He overthrew Buhari’s regime on August 27, 1985, in a palace coup through the help of mid-level officers strategically positioned for the purpose. Babangida is the longest-serving Head of State in Nigeria.

3. Muhammadu Buhari

Duration- 7 Years and Counting

Muhammadu Buhari GCFR is the current president of Nigeria (as of 2022). He has served as Nigeria’s president since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who was the country’s military head of State from 1983 to 1985 before the unfortunate incident of a coup against him occurred.

Prior to his emergence as Nigerian president in 2015, Buhari ran for the presidency in 2003, 2007, and 2011 respectively. He however won the 2015 presidential elections, defeating the incumbent president at the time, Goodluck Jonathan. In 2019, he was re-elected as president, defeating former vice president, Atiku Abubakar by over 3 million votes.

2. Olusegun Obasanj0

Duration- 8 Years

Olusegun Obasanjo first ruled Nigeria as a military figure from 1976 to 1979. After his military regime, he contested in the 1999 presidential elections on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and won. Later in 2003, he ran for a second term and won with over 11 million votes against his closest opponent.

Obasanjo remains the second man on the list of Longest-serving Presidents in Nigeria.

1. General Yakubu Gowon

Duration- 8 Years, 362 Days

General Yakubu Gowon is the longest-serving president in Nigeria’s history. His government took over via a coup d’etat in 1996 and was overthrown in the same way in 1975 after ruling for almost nine years. He also holds the title of the “youngest person to have ruled the country” at the age of 31.

The Nigerian civil war from 1967 to 1970 happened during his tenure and although he was accused of many crimes including genocide, Gowon maintained that his leadership saved the country.

He remains the first on the list of the top 10 longest-serving presidents in Nigeria.

Longest-Serving Presidents in Nigeria (Summary)

Here’s a list of the top 10 longest-serving presidents in Nigeria so far.

1. General Yakubu Gowon- 8 years, 362 days
2. Olusegun Obasanjo- 8 years
3. Muhammadu Buhari- 7 years and still counting
4. General Ibrahim Babangida- 7 years, 364 days
5. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan- 5 years, 25 days
6. General Sani Abacha- 4 years, 203 days
7. Shehu Shagari- 4 years, 91 days
8. General Olusegun Obasanjo- 3 years, 8 months
9. Umaru Musa Yar’Adua- 2 years, 341 days
10. Nnamdi Azikiwe- 2 years, 107 days