Date formed 1 October 1979 | Date dissolved 31 December 1983 | |
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Predecessor Government of General Olusegun Obasanjo | ||
The Cabinet of Shehu Shagari formed the government of Nigeria during the presidency of Shehu Shagari between 1979 and 1983, after the return to civilian rule with the Second Nigerian Republic. It was terminated by a military coup.
Contents
History
Lieutenant General Olusegun Obasanjo had become head of government after an attempted coup in February 1976. He managed the transition to civilian rule in an election won by the National Party of Nigeria led by Shehu Shagari. Shagari took office on 1 October 1979. Shagari appointed 61 ministers, of whom 24 were of cabinet rank. The ministers were both Muslim and Christian, but Muslims had a larger and growing share of ministries, and generally held the more important posts. Shagari made extensive use of the Cabinet Office, an organisation of leading professional civil servants, where it would have been more typical of a presidential system to rely more on political appointees. Shagari did not completely control the immensely powerful ministers in his cabinet. He was honest himself, but was not strong enough to throw out the many dishonest men who surrounded him.
Shehu Shagari's National Party of Nigeria (NPN) won the 1983 general elections, the worst in Nigeria's history to date. The political parties resorting to violence, arson, vote rigging and other malpractices in the struggle for victory. After the second election Shagari removed all but seven of the former members of his cabinet, and appointed various respected technocrats such as Emeka Anyaoku. He also reappointed his relative, Umaru Dikko, who had been accused of corruption.
Soon after Shagari began his second term as president the military staged a coup on 31 December 1983. The leaders were Major Generals Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon. The coup was launched two days after Shagari had announced an austerity program, forced due to a fall in the price of oil, which provided 90% of government revenue. Shagari and many cabinet members were arrested. Buhari said the coup was required to remove the "inept and corrupt administration that left Nigeria a beggar nation."
Ministers
Cabinet members included:
Distribution by Religion
The distribution of ministerial appointments by religion (M: Muslim, C: Christian) was: