Last modified: 2025-05-31 by bruce berry
Keywords: nigeria | president | arms |
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image by Zoltan Horvath, 9 August 2024
On 1 October 1960 Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom. An all Nigerian Executive Council was established headed by a Prime Minister and a Governor-General was head of state. The country was a federation of three regions – North, East and West, with Lagos as the Federal Capital. Each of the regions was headed by a Premier with a Governor as ceremonial head.
On 1 October 1963 Nigeria became a Federal Republic within the British Commonwealth of Nations. The Governor-General was replaced by a President as Head of State.
Jarig Bakker, 2 January 2003
Album de Pavillons [pay01] shows the flag used by the President of the Nigeria, and also by an Ambassador, to be the the national triband with the coat of arms in the centre in proportion 3:5.
Apart from the ratio, this is closest to what we may tentatively call the state flag. This flag is described as such in The Complete Guide to Flags by William Crampton (1990) [cra90f].
The Coat of Arms is shown differently in various sources. Album de Pavillons [pay01] shows them with yellow horses and white ribbon (inscribed UNITY AND FAITH PEACE AND PROGRESS), while Crampton [cra90f] shows white horses and yellow ribbon. Whitney Smith in Flags Through the Ages and Across the World [smi75] and [smi82] illustrates somewhat different arms, with the inscription being only UNITY AND FAITH. I suppose the coat of arms may have changed, probably at the same time when the new naval ensign was adopted and possibly when the civil ensign was abandoned.
Željko Heimer, 5 July 2002
Based on pictures available on the Internet, the president uses the national flag (without coat of arms)
together with the flag of the Commander in Chief (with four horizontal stripes).
I haven’t found any legal document on the Presidential Flag.
After the military regime, the state flag with ratio 3:5 became the presidential flag, but he adaptation date
is unknown.
This flag (state flag with ratio 3:5) is also illustrated by French Navy Books as President of the Republic
or Ambassador.
The current presidential flag (striped flag) has already been used by the president since 2007 (based on
pictures on internet). Further searching is required in this topic.
image by Zoltan Horvath, 9 August 2024
Initially, the Presidential Standard had a red field, also in proportion 1:2, with a large green shield, fimbriated white, in the centre. This was charged with the shield from the Coat of Arms which is black, with a wavy-edged 'Y' or 'pall' in white (representing the confluence of the Niger and Benue Rivers against the black of Nigeria). Above and below this are three black scrolls containing the legend "President Federal Republic of Nigeria" in gold letters. (Source: Flags of the World by EMC Barraclough and William Crampton (1981) [c2b81] on page 153)
The date when this flag ceased to be used is not known.
Santiago Dotor, 13 April 2000
The previous flag was used since 1963, but it's unclear when abolished (probably in 1966 after the first
coup d'état).
Zoltan Horvath, 9 August 2024