Have you been searching for the 36 States and capital of the federal republic of Nigeria for personal knowledge or to teach your children?, Here on this post you’ll find everything you need to know about the Nigeria historical landscape, including the 36 States and capital, the geopolitical zones states creation and other important facts.
The 36 States and capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are:
| SN | State | Capital |
| 1 | Abia | Umuahia |
| 2 | Adamawa | Yola |
| 3 | Akwa Ibom | Uyo |
| 4 | Anambra | Awka |
| 5 | Bauchi | Bauchi |
| 6 | Bayelsa | Yenagoa |
| 7 | Benue | Makurdi |
| 8 | Borno | Maiduguri |
| 9 | Cross River | Calabar |
| 10 | Delta | Asaba |
| 11 | Ebonyi | Abakaliki |
| 12 | Edo | Benin City |
| 13 | Ekiti | Ado-Ekiti |
| 14 | Enugu | Enugu |
| 15 | Gombe | Gombe |
| 16 | Imo | Owerri |
| 17 | Jigawa | Dutse |
| 18 | Kaduna | Kaduna |
| 19 | Kano | Kano |
| 20 | Katsina | Katsina |
| 21 | Kebbi | Birnin Kebbi |
| 22 | Kogi | Lokoja |
| 23 | Kwara | Ilorin |
| 24 | Lagos | Ikeja |
| 25 | Nasarawa | Lafia |
| 26 | Niger | Minna |
| 27 | Ogun | Abeokuta |
| 28 | Ondo | Akure |
| 29 | Osun | Oshogbo |
| 30 | Oyo | Ibadan |
| 31 | Plateau | Jos |
| 32 | Rivers | Port Harcourt |
| 33 | Sokoto | Sokoto |
| 34 | Taraba | Jalingo |
| 35 | Yobe | Damaturu |
| 36 | Zamfara | Gusau |
List of Nigeria’s 36 states & Abuja
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
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
Maps of Nigeria’s 36 states & Abuja
States creation, reformation
By the time that Nigeria got independence it was a federation of the three regions, namely:
Western
Eastern
Northern
Later on another region was added, the Mid-Western Region.
The Mid-Western Region was formed from the Western Region in 1966, and Lagos, the capital, was effectively governed as an unofficial fourth region outside the bounds of the Western Region.
This brought the number of regions to 4 as follows:
Western
Mid-Western
Western
Northern
Under the short-lived military government of Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigeria was reorganized under a central government. Following a coup which resulted in Aguiyi-Ironsi’s deposition and assassination, Nigeria was reorganized as a federal country again with three of the regions being divided into newer entities and all first-level subdivisions being renamed as states.
Western Region was divided into:
Lagos
and Western states.
Eastern Region was divided into:
East-Central,
Rivers,
and South-Eastern states;
Northern Region was divided into:
Benue-Plateau,
Kano,
Kwara,
North-Central,
North-Eastern,
and North-Western (Sokoto) states
1976 reformation of Nigeria’s federating units
In 1976, six years after the end of the civil war, the states were further reorganized:
State boundaries and names were also reorganized.
Benue-Plateau state divided into:
Benue
and Plateau states.
East-Central state divided into:
Anambra
and Imo states.
Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) formed from parts of Niger and Plateau states.
North-Eastern state divided into:
Bauchi,
Borno,
and Gongola states.
Niger (Minna) state split from Sokoto.
Western state divided into:
Ogun,
Ondo,
and Oyo states
States of Nigeria from 1987-1991
Akwa Ibom state created from Cross River;
Katsina state created from Kaduna
States of Nigeria from 1991-1996
Abia State created from Imo;
Bendel State divided into Delta and Edo;
Enugu State created from Anambra;
Gongola State divided into Adamawa and Taraba;
Jigawa State created from Kano;
Kebbi State created from Sokoto;
Kogi State formed from parts of Benue and Kwara;
Osun State created from Oyo;
Yobe State created from Borno.
States of Nigeria from 1996
Bayelsa State was created from Rivers;
Ebonyi State was formed from parts of Abia and Enugu;
Ekiti State created from Ondo;
Gombe State created from Bauchi;
Nasarawa State created from Plateau;
Zamfara State was created from Sokoto.
More on Nigeria
Nigeria is a country in Africa, a regional power on the continent and an emerging power on the international scene.
It has 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Having being divided into states, the country is further divided into 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The LGAs are under the control of their respective states.
The country has the largest economy in Africa.
Nigeria’s population is over 230 million, making it number 1 most populated country in Africa, and number 6 in the world.