History of State Creation in Nigeria

Before 1967, Nigeria was operating on its regional arrangement. We had the Northern, Western and Eastern regions which were a result of the promulgation of the Richard’s Constitution in 1949. Later, in 1963, the mid-Western region was introduced.

Between 1967 and 1996, Nigeria was split into thirty-six states. It is not untrue to say that one of the lasting legacies of military rule in Nigeria is the creation of states. This started in 1967 when Yakubu Gowon, the then military Head of State (1967-1975) created twelve states to replace the existing regional arrangement.

Following the first instance of a military regime creating states, nearly all subsequent military rulers have used this action as a reason to establish even more states, the last being that of General Sani Abacha.

Map of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966 — *Map of Nigeria (1963 – 1966) showing the original 3 regions*.

Table of Contents

State Creation in Nigeria and their Creators

Here’s the historical list of Nigerian past leaders who contributed to number of states we have today:

1. Yakubu Gowon in 1967

in July 1966, Gowon became the new military ruler of the country. He dissolved the four regions in the country and subsequently created twelve States on May 5, 1967. Six States were carved out from the former northern region, and two from the former western region. The former mid-western region became the Mid-Western state, while the former eastern region had three new States carved out from it.

S/N	State	Date of Creation	State created from
1	North-Western	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
2	North-Eastern	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
3	North-Central	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
4	Benue-Plateau	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
5	Kano	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
6	Kwara	27th May, 1967	Northern Region
7	Western	27th May, 1967	Western Region
8	Lagos	27th May, 1967	Western Region
9	Mid-Western	27th May, 1967	Mid-Western Region
10	Southern-Eastern	27th May, 1967	Eastern Region
11	East Central	27th May, 1967	Eastern Region
12	Rivers	27th May, 1967	Eastern Region

Twelve states created by Yakubu Gowon in 1967

2. Muritala Muhammad in 1976

On assumption of office, he (Murtala Mohammed) created another twelve states, bringing the total number of States to nineteen.

S/N	State	Date of Creation	State created from
1	Anambra	3rd February, 1976	East Central
2	Bauchi	3rd February, 1976	North Eastern
3	Benue	3rd February, 1976	Benue-Plateau
4	Borno	3rd February, 1976	North-Eastern
5	Gongola	3rd February, 1976
6	Imo	3rd February, 1976	East-Central
7	Niger	3rd February, 1976	North-Western
8	Ogun	3rd February, 1976	Western
9	Ondo	3rd February, 1976	Western
10	Oyo	3rd February, 1976	Western
11	Plateau	3rd February, 1976	Benue-Plateau
12	Sokoto	3rd February, 1976	North-Western

Twelve states created by Murtala Muhammed

DID YOU KNOW?

GONGOLA STATE is a former administrative division of Nigeria, created in 1976. It existed until 1991, when it was divided into two states - Adamawa and Taraba. The city of Yola was the capital of Gongola State. As at 1980, it was the most peaceful state to live in north, with lowest crime rate.

3. Ibrahim Babangida in1987 & 1991

In 1987, Babangida created two States namely, Akwa Ibom and Katsina. He also created nine additional States in 1991. These were: Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba and Yobe. We had altogether 30 states this time.

S/N	State	Date of Creation	State created from
1	Akwa-Ibom	23rd September, 1987	Cross-River
2	Katsina	23rd September, 1987	Kaduna
3	Adamawa	27th August, 1991	Gongola
4	Taraba	27th August, 1991	Gongola
5	Edo	27th August, 1991	Bendel
6	Delta	27th August, 1991	Bendel
7	Yobe	27th August, 1991	Borno
8	Jigawa	27th August, 1991	Kano
9	Kebbi	27th August, 1991	Sokoto
10	Osun	27th August, 1991	Oyo
11	Kogi	27th August, 1991	Kwara & Benue

Eleven states created by Ibrahim Babangida

DID YOU KNOW?

The Benin & Delta provinces make up THE BENDEL. This region is the same as the mid-Western region. The present-day Delta state was created from Bendel.

4. Sani Abacha in 1996

Sani Abacha became Nigeria’s next military Head of State in 1993 after ousting the Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government. On October 1, 1996, he created six additional States.

S/N	State	Date of Creation	State created from
1	Bayelsa	1st October, 1996	Rivers
2	Ebonyi	1st October, 1996	Enugu & Abia
3	Ekiti	1st October, 1996	Ondo
4	Gombe	1st October, 1996	Bauchi
5	Nasarawa	1st October, 1996	Plateau
6	Zamfara	1st October, 1996	Sokoto

Six states created by Sani Abacha

Map of Nigeria showing all 36 states — *36 states of Nigeria on the map*.

Conclusion

Nigeria’s journey from merely three (3) regions to thirty-six (36) states not only shaped our political landscape but also reflected the evolution of the military governments. We can see from the history that many states share a common origin. This raises questions about the division and diversity we have today.

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History of State Creation in Nigeria