Under Nigeria's Independence Constitution of 1960, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the Governor-General of Nigeria. He was the ceremonial head of state, representing the British monarch (Queen Elizabeth II), as Nigeria was still a constitutional monarchy at that time.

In 1963, after Nigeria became a republic, Dr. Azikiwe became the first President of Nigeria under the new republican constitution, which removed the monarchy and established the office of the president as the head of state.