States of Nigeria

First-level administrative subdivisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nigeria

Category| Federation
Location| Nigeria
Number| 36
Populations| 1,704,358 (Bayelsa State) – 9,401,288 (Lagos State)
Mean: 5,300,000
Areas| 3,580 km2 (1,381 sq mi) (Lagos State) – 76,360 km2 (29,484 sq mi) (Niger State)
Mean: 25,660 km2 (9,907 sq mi)
Government|

* State government

Subdivisions|

* Local Government Area (LGA)

Politics of Nigeria

Constitution

* Human rights

Government

* President (list)

Bola Tinubu
* Vice President

Kashim Shettima
* Cabinet
* Federal Parastatals

Legislature

* National Assembly of Nigeria

* * *

* Senate

* * *

* President Godswill Akpabio (APC)

* Deputy President Barau Jibrin (APC)
* (List of members of the Senate)

* * *

* House of Representatives

* * *

* Speaker Abbas Tajudeen  (APC)

* Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu (APC)
* (List of members of the House)

* * *

* State delegations

* * *

* Abia
* Adamawa
* Akwa Ibom
* Anambra
* Bauchi
* Bayelsa
* Benue
* Borno
* Cross River
* Delta
* Ebonyi
* Edo
* Ekiti
* Enugu
* Gombe
* Imo
* Jigawa
* Kaduna
* Kano
* Katsina
* Kebbi
* Kogi
* Kwara
* Lagos
* Nasarawa
* Niger
* Ogun
* Ondo
* Osun
* Oyo
* Plateau
* Rivers
* Sokoto
* Taraba
* Yobe
* Zamfara
* FCT

Judiciary

* Supreme Court

Subdivisions

* States

State governors
* Local Government Areas

Elections

* Recent elections

* Presidential: 2015
* 2019
* 2023

* Parliamentary: 2015
* 2019
* 2023

* Political parties

Foreign relations

* Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Minister: Yusuf Tuggar

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Nigeria

* * *

* Nationality law
* Passport
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

Nigeria portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

Nigeria is a federation of 36 states. Each of the 36 states is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares powers with the federal government as enumerated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is the capital territory of Nigeria, and it is in this territory that the capital city of Abuja is located.[1] The FCT is not a state. It is a territory of the Federal Government, administered by Ministers of Government appointed by the President who supervises by the administration of the territory. Each state is subdivided into local government areas (LGAs). There are 774 local governments in Nigeria.[2] Under the constitution, the 36 states are co-equal but not supreme because sovereignty resides with the federal government. The constitution can be amended by the National Assembly, but each amendment must be ratified by two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation.

## Current states and the Federal Capital Territory[edit]

A clickable map of Nigeria showing its 36 states and the federal capital territory.

A clickable map of Nigeria exhibiting its 36 states and the federal capital territory.

| States

* Abia
* Adamawa
* Akwa Ibom
* Anambra
* Bauchi
* Bayelsa
* Benue
* Borno
* Cross River
* Delta
* Ebonyi
* Edo

* Ekiti
* Enugu
* Gombe
* Imo
* Jigawa
* Kaduna
* Kano
* Katsina
* Kebbi
* Kogi
* Kwara
* Lagos

* Nasarawa
* Niger
* Ogun
* Ondo
* Osun
* Oyo
* Plateau
* Rivers
* Sokoto
* Taraba
* Yobe
* Zamfara

Territory
Federal Capital Territory

States of Nigeria  Name  | ISO
3166-2
code | Seal  | Location  | City  | Geopolitical
zone | Area  | Population
(2019
estimate)[3]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Capital  | Largest
Abia | AB  |  |  | Umuahia | Aba | South East | 6,320 km2 (2,440 sq mi)  | 3,841,943
Adamawa | AD  |  |  | Yola | North East | 36,917 km2 (14,254 sq mi)  | 4,536,948
Akwa Ibom | AK  |  |  | Uyo | South South | 7,081 km2 (2,734 sq mi)  | 4,780,581
Anambra | AN  |
Link |  | Awka | Onitsha | South East | 4,844 km2 (1,870 sq mi)  | 5,599,910
Bauchi | BA  |  |  | Bauchi | North East | 45,893 km2 (17,719 sq mi)  | 7,540,663
Bayelsa | BY  |
Link |  | Yenagoa | South South | 10,773 km2 (4,159 sq mi)  | 2,394,725
Benue | BE  |  |  | Makurdi | North Central | 34,059 km2 (13,150 sq mi)  | 5,787,706
Borno | BO  |  |  | Maiduguri | North East | 70,898 km2 (27,374 sq mi)  | 5,751,590
Cross River | CR  |  |  | Calabar | South South | 20,156 km2 (7,782 sq mi)  | 4,175,020
Delta | DE  |
Link |  | Asaba | South South | 17,698 km2 (6,833 sq mi)  | 5,307,543
Ebonyi | EB  |  |  | Abakaliki | South East | 6,400 km2 (2,500 sq mi)  | 3,007,155
Edo | ED  |  |  | Benin City | South South | 19,559 km2 (7,552 sq mi)  | 4,461,137
Ekiti | EK  |
Link |  | Ado Ekiti | South West | 6,353 km2 (2,453 sq mi)  | 3,350,401
Enugu | EN  |  |  | Enugu | South East | 13,161 km2 (5,081 sq mi)  | 4,396,098
Gombe | GO  |
Link |  | Gombe | North East | 18,768 km2 (7,246 sq mi)  | 3,623,462
Imo | IM  |  |  | Owerri | South East | 5,530 km2 (2,140 sq mi)  | 5,167,722
Jigawa | JI  |  |  | Dutse | North West | 23,154 km2 (8,940 sq mi)  | 6,779,080
Kaduna | KD  |
Link |  | Kaduna | North West | 46,053 km2 (17,781 sq mi)  | 8,324,285
Kano | KN  |  |  | Kano | North West | 20,131 km2 (7,773 sq mi)  | 14,253,549
Katsina | KT  |
Link |  | Katsina | North West | 24,192 km2 (9,341 sq mi)  | 9,300,382
Kebbi | KE  |  |  | Birnin Kebbi | North West | 36,800 km2 (14,200 sq mi)  | 5,001,610
Kogi | KO  |
Link |  | Lokoja | North Central | 29,833 km2 (11,519 sq mi)  | 4,153,734
Kwara | KW  |
Link |  | Ilorin | North Central | 36,825 km2 (14,218 sq mi)  | 3,259,613
Lagos | LA  |  |  | Ikeja | Lagos | South West | 3,577 km2 (1,381 sq mi)  | 12,772,884
Nasarawa | NA  |  |  | Lafia | North Central | 26,256 km2 (10,137 sq mi)  | 2,632,239
Niger | NI  |
Link |  | Minna | North Central | 76,363 km2 (29,484 sq mi)  | 6,220,617
Ogun | OG  |
Link |  | Abeokuta | South West | 16,981 km2 (6,556 sq mi)  | 5,945,275
Ondo | ON  |  |  | Akure | South West | 15,500 km2 (6,000 sq mi)  | 4,969,707
Osun | OS  |
Link |  | Osogbo | South West | 9,251 km2 (3,572 sq mi)  | 4,237,396
Oyo | OY  |  |  | Ibadan | South West | 28,454 km2 (10,986 sq mi)  | 7,512,855
Plateau | PL  |  |  | Jos | North Central | 30,913 km2 (11,936 sq mi)  | 4,400,974
Rivers | RI  |
Link |  | Port Harcourt | South South | 11,077 km2 (4,277 sq mi)  | 7,034,973
Sokoto | SO  |
Link |  | Sokoto | North West | 25,973 km2 (10,028 sq mi)  | 5,863,187
Taraba | TA  |  |  | Jalingo | North East | 54,473 km2 (21,032 sq mi)  | 3,331,885
Yobe | YO  |  |  | Damaturu | Potiskum | North East | 45,502 km2 (17,568 sq mi)  | 3,398,177
Zamfara | ZA  |  |  | Gusau | North West | 39,762 km2 (15,352 sq mi)  | 5,317,793

## Evolution of Nigerian states[edit]

Date | Events | Map

|
|

1960–1963 | At the time of independence in 1960, Nigeria was a federal state of three regions: Northern, Western, and Eastern. Additionally, provinces, which were a legacy of colonial and protectorate times, remained extant until they were abolished in 1976. |
1963–1967 | In 1963, a new region, the Mid-Western Region, was created from the Western Region.  |
1967–1976 | In 1967, the regions were replaced by 12 states by military decree. From 1967 to 1970 the Eastern Region attempted to secede, as a nation called Biafra during the Nigerian civil war. |
1976–1987 | In 1976, seven new states were created, making 19 altogether.[4] |
1987–1991 | During this period, there were 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory. |
1991–1996 | During this period, there were 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The Federal Capital Territory was established in 1991. In 1987 two new states were established, followed by another nine in 1991, bringing the total to 30. The latest change, in 1996, resulted in the present number of 36 states. |

## Government[edit]

States of Nigeria have the right to organize and structure their individual governments in any way within the parameters set by the Constitution of Nigeria.

### Legislature[edit]

At the state level, the legislature is unicameral, with the number of its members equal to three times the number of legislators it has in the Federal House of Representatives. It has the power to legislate on matters on the concurrent list.

### Executive[edit]

At the state level, the head of the executive is the governor, who has the power to appoint people to the state executive council, subject to the advice and consent of the state house of assembly (legislature). The head of a ministry at the state level is the commissioner, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, who is also a senior civil servant of the state.

### Judiciary[edit]

The Judiciary is one of the co-equal arms of the state government concerned with the interpretation of the laws of the state government. The judiciary is headed by the chief justice of the state appointed by the governor subject to the approval of the state house of assembly.[5]

## Chronology[edit]

Regions  | States

|

1960 | 1963 | 1967 | 1976 | 1987 | 1991 | 1996
Eastern | South-Eastern | Cross River | Akwa Ibom
Cross River
East Central | Imo | Imo
Abia
Ebonyi
Anambra | Enugu
Enugu
Anambra
Rivers | Bayelsa
Rivers
Western | Mid-Western | Bendel | Delta
Edo
Western | Lagos
Western | Ogun
Ondo | Ekiti
Ondo
Oyo | Osun
Oyo
Northern | Benue-Plateau | Plateau | Nasarawa
Plateau
Benue | Benue
Kogi
Kwara
Kwara
Kano | Jigawa
Kano
North Central | Kaduna | Kaduna
Katsina
North Western | Niger
Sokoto | Kebbi
Sokoto | Sokoto
Zamfara
North Eastern | Bauchi | Bauchi
Gombe
Borno | Borno
Yobe
Gongola | Adamawa
Taraba

## See also[edit]

* Nigeria portal

* List of Nigerian states by population
* ISO 3166-2:NG
* List of state governors of Nigeria

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ "Federal Capital Territory (FCT) | Location & Geography | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
2. ^ "USAID Nigeria mission: Nigeria administrative divisions" Archived 2007-01-13 at the Wayback Machine United States Agency for International Development, October 2004, last accessed 21 April 2010
3. ^ Demographic Statistics Bulletin 2020
4. ^ Kraxberger, Brennan (2005) "Strangers, Indigenes and Settlers: Contested Geographies of Citizenship in Nigeria" Space and Polity 9(1): pp. 9–27, pages 10, 11, & 15
5. ^ Shetreet, Shimon; Deschênes, Jules (1985-01-01). Judicial Independence: The Contemporary Debate. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. ISBN 978-90-247-3182-4.

## Sources[edit]

* Gboyega Ajayi (2007). The military and the Nigerian state, 1966–1993: a study of the strategies of political power control. Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press. ISBN 978-1-59221-568-3.
* Solomon Akhere Benjamin (1999). The 1996 state and local government reorganizations in Nigeria. Ibadan: Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research. ISBN 978-181-238-9.
* Rotimi T. Suberu (1994). 1991 state and local government reorganizations in Nigeria. Ibadan: Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan. ISBN 978-2015-28-8.

## External links[edit]

* "New States of Nigeria". Statoids.
* Headline News in Nigeria Archived 2018-08-20 at the Wayback Machine States

States And Capital In Nigeria, Their Slogans & Current Governors A comprehensive list of all states in Nigeria and their current governors.

* v
* t
* e

States of Nigeria

Federal Capital Territory

* Abia
* Adamawa
* Akwa Ibom
* Anambra
* Bauchi
* Bayelsa
* Benue
* Borno
* Cross River
* Delta
* Ebonyi
* Edo
* Ekiti
* Enugu
* Gombe
* Imo
* Jigawa
* Kaduna
* Kano
* Katsina
* Kebbi
* Kogi
* Kwara
* Lagos
* Nasarawa
* Niger
* Ogun
* Ondo
* Osun
* Oyo
* Plateau
* Rivers
* Sokoto
* Taraba
* Yobe
* Zamfara

Nigeria portal

* v
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* e

Lists of States of Nigeria

* Listed by: area
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* GDP
* HDI
* literacy rate
* poverty rate
* date of statehood
* capitals
* governors
* nicknames
* highest point
* traditional states
* provinces

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