Action Group

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Action Group

political party, Nigeria

Also known as: AG

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Last updated

July 23, 2026

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The Action Group was a significant Nigerian political party founded in 1950–51 by Obafemi Awolowo. It emerged from the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a Yoruba cultural organization, and advocated for an immediate end to British rule and the implementation of social welfare programs. The party was instrumental in the Western Region's first elections in 1951, with Awolowo serving as its first president. The Action Group's regional focus, along with other major parties, contributed to Nigeria's eventual civil war and periods of military rule.12

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Samuel Ladoke Akintola
…a legal adviser to the Action Group, the dominant Western Region party, and by 1954 was deputy leader under Obafemi Awolowo. He was simultaneously active in the federal government; he became minister of labour in 1952 and later held the portfolios of health, communications, and aviation.
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…a legal adviser to the Action Group, the dominant Western Region party, and by 1954 was deputy leader under Obafemi Awolowo. He was simultaneously active in the federal government; he became minister of labour in 1952 and later held the portfolios of health, communications, and aviation.
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Obafemi Awolowo
…founded a political party, the Action Group, with some of the Egbe’s members as its nucleus, and in the process became the party’s first president. The party called for an immediate end to British rule and for the development of several social welfare programs. In 1951 the party won the…
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…founded a political party, the Action Group, with some of the Egbe’s members as its nucleus, and in the process became the party’s first president. The party called for an immediate end to British rule and for the development of several social welfare programs. In 1951 the party won the…
Read More

western Africa
The formation of African independence movements
…two nationalist parties emerged, the Action Group (AG), supported primarily by the Yoruba of the west, and the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), whose prime support came from the Igbo of the east. These parties expected the whole country quickly to follow the Ghanaian pattern of constitutional change. But…
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…two nationalist parties emerged, the Action Group (AG), supported primarily by the Yoruba of the west, and the National Convention of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), whose prime support came from the Igbo of the east. These parties expected the whole country quickly to follow the Ghanaian pattern of constitutional change. But…
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Nigeria
Political process
The Action Group (AG) and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) were the major Nigerian parties when the country became independent in 1960. However, their regional rather than national focus—the AG represented the west, the NPC the north, and the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons…
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The Action Group (AG) and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) were the major Nigerian parties when the country became independent in 1960. However, their regional rather than national focus—the AG represented the west, the NPC the north, and the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons…
Read More