The president of Nigeria, officially the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the Federal Government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The offices, powers, and titles of the head of state and the head of government were officially merged into the office of the presidency under the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria.
Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo GCFR (// ; Yoruba: Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ [ōlúʃɛ́ɡũ̄ ɔ̄básã̄d͡ʒɔ́] ; born c. 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian politician, statesman, agriculturalist, and former army general who served as Nigeria's military dictator from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 2007. Ideologically a Nigerian nationalist, he was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from 1998 to 2015, and since 2018.
Born in the village of Ibogun-Olaogun to a farming family of the Owu branch of the Yoruba, Obasanjo was educated largely in Abeokuta, Ogun State. He joined the Nigerian Army and specialised in engineering and served in the Congo, Britain, and India, rising to the rank of Major. In the late 1960s, he played a major role in combating Biafran separatists during the Nigerian Civil War, accepting their surrender in 1970. In 1975, a military coup established a junta with Obasanjo as part of its ruling triumvirate. After the triumvirate's leader, Murtala Muhammed, was assassinated the following year, the Supreme Military Council appointed Obasanjo as Head of State. Continuing Murtala's policies, Obasanjo oversaw budgetary cut-backs and an expansion of access to free school education. Increasingly aligning Nigeria with the United States, he also emphasised support for groups opposing white minority rule in southern Africa. Committed to restoring democracy, Obasanjo oversaw the 1979 election, after which he transferred control of Nigeria to the newly elected civilian president, Shehu Shagari. Obasanjo then retired to Ota, Ogun, where he became a farmer, published four books, and took part in international initiatives to end various African conflicts.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is a federal territory in central Nigeria. Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, is located in this territory. The FCT was formed in 1976 from parts of the states of old Kaduna, Kwara, Niger, and Plateau states, with the bulk of land mass carved out of Niger state. The Federal Capital Territory is within the North Central region of the country. Unlike other states of Nigeria, which are headed by elected Governors, it is administered by the Federal Capital Territory Administration, headed by a minister, who is appointed by the president.
The Aso Rock Villa (officially Aso Rock Presidential Villa) is the workplace and official residence of the President of Nigeria since 1991, when Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja. It is located at Yakubu Gowon Crescent, Asokoro District, Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The Aso Rock Villa hosts the offices of the President and Vice President and it is the seat of the Executive Arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Aso Rock Villa is the most protected presidential state house in Africa. It is heavily protected by the Presidential Guards Brigade and the State Security Service.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is a Nigerian ministry that administers the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It is headed by a minister, who is appointed by the president, and assisted by a permanent secretary, who is a career civil servant.
The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the military forces of Nigeria. The forces consist of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister. With a force of more than 230,000 active personnel, the Nigerian military is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa.
The Nigerian Armed Forces were established in 1960 as the successor to the combat units of the Royal West African Frontier Force stationed in the country, which had previously served as the British Empire's multi-battalion field force, during Nigeria's protectorate period. Since its creation, the Nigerian military has fought in a civil war – the conflict with Biafra in 1967–70 – and sent peacekeeping forces abroad, both with the United Nations and as the backbone of the Economic Community of West African States Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia and Sierra Leone. It has also seized power twice at home (1966 & 1983). Nigeria's armed forces would continue to remain an active element in combat operations throughout the African continent over the proceeding decades, with notable engagements including its 2017 involvement as part of the ECOWAS military intervention in the Gambia.