1998–1999 · Military

Abdulsalami Abubakar

A short handover government: fix a few prices and leave.

Scorecard

Too short to score Military: took power unconstitutionally

Military government. Took power unconstitutionally; political rights are not scored here (see Freedom House), §5

In office 1998-06-09 to 1999-05-29 · scored years: 1998-1998 (1). How we score · Public review

Too short to score

Fewer than two scored calendar years under the 183-day rule (§3): 1 scored year(s) (1998). No outcome, credibility, reforms or composite score is given.

Finance ministers
Ismaila Usman (Aug 1998-May 1999)
CBN governors
Paul Ogwuma
Signature move
The transition: handing power to an elected government within a year, with a fuel price adjustment and an end to the official N22 rate.
Oil price context
$12.7 a barrel in 1998, the lowest since 1973 in nominal terms, recovering to $18.0 in 1999.

Key actions

Context data (not scored)

Calendar-year data for context only. No score is given.
YearCPI inflationGDP growthOfficial rate (₦ per $)Oil ($/bbl)
199810%2.58%21.8912.72
19996.62%0.58%92.3417.97

Calendar-year data shown for context only; these years are shared with (and scored for) neighbouring governments where they held 183+ days.

No score to challenge. This government held office too briefly to be scored, so it has no score of any kind. Spotted an error in the facts on this card? Email [email protected] with your source. How public review works

Sources for this card (7)
  1. EI_OIL Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy 2026 via Our World in Data, annual crude price (nominal US$/m3; divided by 6.2898 to get US$/bbl) (2026)
  2. WDI_CPI_1960 World Bank WDI API, FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG, Nigeria, 1960-2025 (last updated 2026-07-13) (2026-07-13) live pull saved 2026-10-02
  3. WDI_FX_1960 World Bank WDI API, PA.NUS.FCRF (official exchange rate, LCU per US$, period average; pre-1973 values in naira-equivalent units), Nigeria, 1960-2025 (last updated 2026-07-13) (2026-07-13) live pull saved 2026-10-02
  4. WDI_GDP_1960 World Bank WDI API, NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG, Nigeria, 1961-2025 (last updated 2026-07-13) (2026-07-13) live pull saved 2026-10-02
  5. cbnfx CBN, 'History of Foreign Exchange Management'
  6. vanguard_fuel Vanguard, 'Timeline of fuel price increments', 26 Dec 2017
  7. wbfx World Bank WDI, official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average), PA.NUS.FCRF, Nigeria