State and capital in Nigeria

List of states and capitals in Nigeria.

The 36 states in Nigeria and their capitals are:

  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
SNStateCapital
1AbiaUmuahia
2AdamawaYola
3Akwa IbomUyo
4AnambraAwka
5BauchiBauchi
6BayelsaYenagoa
7BenueMakurdi
8BornoMaiduguri
9Cross RiverCalabar
10DeltaAsaba
11EbonyiAbakaliki
12EdoBenin City
13EkitiAdo-Ekiti
14EnuguEnugu
15GombeGombe
16ImoOwerri
17JigawaDutse
18KadunaKaduna
19KanoKano
20KatsinaKatsina
21KebbiBirnin Kebbi
22KogiLokoja
23KwaraIlorin
24LagosIkeja
25NasarawaLafia
26NigerMinna
27OgunAbeokuta
28OndoAkure
29OsunOshogbo
30OyoIbadan
31PlateauJos
32RiversPort Harcourt
33SokotoSokoto
34TarabaJalingo
35YobeDamaturu
36ZamfaraGusau
StateCapital
Federal Capital TerritoryAbuja
Map of Nigeria showing states and senatorial zones

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

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

Akwa Ibom state created from Cross River;
Katsina state created from Kaduna

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.

Bayelsa State 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.

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.

Tiv people of Nigeria

It covers an area of 923,769 square kilometres (356,669 sq mi).

It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea to the south in the Atlantic Ocean.

Abuja City Gate

Nigeria borders Niger in the north, Chad in the northeast, Cameroon in the east, and Benin in the west.

It is often referred to as the Giant of Africa owing to its large population and economy and is considered to be an emerging market by the World Bank.

National Assembly building
Maitama, Abuja with Hilton Hotel’s high-rise building in the foreground

The largest city in Nigeria is Lagos, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the largest in Africa.

Calabar
Obudu Mountain Resort

The official language is English, chosen to facilitate linguistic unity at the national level.

Nigeria is a multinational state inhabited by more than 250 ethnic groups speaking 500 distinct languages, all identifying with a wide variety of cultures.