On October 1 1960, the Federation of Nigeria was granted full independence from the United Kingdom under a constitution that provided for a parliamentary government and an Executive Council, made up entirely of Nigerians, was led by a prime minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
Its first government was a coalition of conservative parties, and it came into power on an increasingly demands for political independence from colonial powers. The conservative coalition government that came into power on 1 October comprised the Nigerian People’s Congress (NPC), the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), and the Action Group (AG) constituted the opposition.
The NPC was largely Hausa and Muslim, the NCNC mainly Igbo and Christian, and the AG mostly Yoruba and relatively liberal. The political divisions between the parties were obvious and acute.
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