States of Nigeria

States of Nigeria
Category	Federated state
Location	Federal Republic of Nigeria
Number	36 States
Populations	1,739,136 (Ebonyi) – 21,000,534 (Lagos)
Areas	3,580 km^2 (1,381 sq mi) (Lagos) – 76,360 km^2 (29,484 sq mi) (Niger)
Government	State government
Subdivisions	Local Government Area

A state of Nigeria is one of the 36 administrative divisions, which shares sovereignty with the Federal Government of Nigeria. There is also the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is not a state, but a territory, under the direct control of the Federal Government. The states are further divided into a total of 774 Local Government Areas.^[1]

Current states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja

A clickable map of Nigeria exhibiting its 36 states and the federal capital territory. States Abia Adamawa Anambra Akwa Ibom Bauchi Bayelsa Benue Borno Cross River Delta Ebonyi Enugu Edo Ekiti 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 (FCT)

Former state boundaries

Before and after independence in 1960, Nigeria was a unitary state of three Regions: Northern, Western, and Eastern. Provinces were also used in colonial times. In 1963, two provinces were detached from the Western Region to form the new Mid-Western Region. In 1967, the regions were replaced by 12 states due to a military decree; only the former Mid-Western Region escaped division, and formed a single state following the restructuring. From 1967 to 1970 the areas of Mid-Western State and the Eastern Region attempted to secede, as Biafra. In 1976, seven new states were created, making 19 altogether.^[2]

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.^[2] The latest change, in 1996, resulted in the present number of 36 states.

1991-1996

During this period, there were 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

1987-1991 During this period, there were 21 states and, later, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

1976-1987 During this period, there were 19 states.

1967-1976 During this period, there were 12 states.

1963-1967 During this period, there were 4 regions.

1960-1963 During this period, there were 3 regions.

Chronology

Regions	States
1960	1967	1976	1987	1991	1996
Eastern	South-Eastern	Cross-River	Akwa Ibom
			Cross-River
	East Central	Imo		Abia
				Imo
		Anambra		Anambra
				Enugu	Enugu
					Ebonyi (also includes part of old Abia)
	Rivers				Bayelsa
					Rivers
Mid-Western (1963)	Mid-Western	Bendel		Delta
				Edo
Western	Lagos
	Western	Ogun
		Ondo			Ekiti
					Ondo
		Oyo		Osun
				Oyo
Northern	Benue-Plateau	Benue
		Plateau			Nasarawa
					Plateau
	Kano			Jigawa
				Kano
	Kwara			Kwara
				Kogi (also includes part of old Benue)
	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

• ISO 3166-2:NG
• List of state governors of Nigeria

Notes

1. "USAID Nigeria mission: Nigeria administrative divisions" United States Agency for International Development, October 2004, last accessed 21 April 2010
2. 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

Sources

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

External links

• New States of Nigeria at statoids.com
• Headline News in Nigeria States