Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa & Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a schoolteacher from Bauchi and Deputy Leader of the NPC, became Nigeria's first and only Prime Minister on 1 October 1960. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became Governor-General the same day, and on 1 October 1963 became the first President of the Republic when Nigeria severed its remaining constitutional ties to the Crown.

The First Republic's politics were dominated by the regional parties (NPC in the North, AG in the West, NCNC in the East) and by the crises of the Western Region (1962 Action Group split and Awolowo treason trial; 1965 Wild Wild West election violence) and the disputed 1962 and 1963 censuses.

On the night of 14–15 January 1966 a group of mostly Igbo majors (Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, Okafor, Anuforo, Onwuatuegwu) launched Nigeria's first military coup. Balewa, the Premier of the North Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the West Chief Samuel Akintola and Finance Minister Festus Okotie-Eboh were killed. The coup failed in Lagos and the surviving senior officer, Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi, took power.