The Republic
First Ladies & Wives of Vice-Presidents

First LadyMilitary Era· 1966

Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi

Lady Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi (née Anyaegbunam, 1923–2021) was the wife of Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria's first military Head of State (January – July 1966). She held the office of First Lady for only six months before her husband was assassinated in the 29 July 1966 counter-coup at Ibadan.

She lived quietly thereafter, raising six children and serving as patron of the 1966 Coup widows fund. She died in 2021 aged 98 and was buried beside her husband at Umuahia.