Know the 36 states in Nigeria and their capitals. In addition, discover several interesting details and information surrounding those states, including their slogans and year of creation.
Nigeria got her independence on the 1st of October in 1960. But back then there were only three regions.
Over the course of time, those three regions were divided to create the 36 states currently in Nigeria.
We shared a brief history of the creation of Nigerian states in our previous article titled ‘how many states are in Nigeria now?‘, hence we won’t be going too deep into that.
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Without further ado, here are the states in Nigeria along with their capitals and slogans:
| S/N | State | Capital | Slogan | Year of Creation |
| 1 | Abia | Umuahia | God’s own State | 1991 |
| 2 | Adamawa | Yola | Former slogan: Land of Beauty, Sunshine, and Hospitality New Slogan: Highest peak of the nation | 1991 |
| 3 | Akwa Ibom | Uyo | Land of promise | 1987 |
| 4 | Anambra | Awka | Former slogan: Home for all New slogan: Light of the nation | 1991 |
| 5 | Bauchi | Bauchi | Pearl of Tourism | 1976 |
| 6 | Bayelsa | Yenagoa | The Glory of All Lands | 1996 |
| 7 | Benue | Makurdi | Food basket of the Nation | 1996 |
| 8 | Borno | Maiduguri | Home of peace | 1976 |
| 9 | Cross River | Calabar | The people’s paradise | 1967 |
| 10 | Delta | Asaba | Former slogan: The Big Heart New slogan: The Finger of God | 1991 |
| 11 | Ebonyi | Abakaliki | The salt of the Nation | 1996 |
| 12 | Edo | Benin City | The Heart Beat of the Nation | 1991 |
| 13 | Ekiti | Ado – Ekiti | Former slogan: Fountain of Knowledge New slogan: Land of honour and integrity | 1996 |
| 14 | Enugu | Enugu | Coal City State | 1991 |
| 15 | Gombe | Gombe | Jewel in the Savannah | 1996 |
| 16 | Imo | Owerri | Old slogan: Land of Hope New slogan: Eastern heartland | 1976 |
| 17 | Jigawa | Dutse | The New World | 1991 |
| 18 | Kaduna | Kaduna | Former slogan: Liberal State new slogan: Centre of learning | 1967 |
| 19 | Kano | Kano | Centre of Commerce | 1967 |
| 20 | Katsina | Katsina | State of Hospitality | 1987 |
| 21 | Kebbi | Birnin Kebbi | Land of Equity | 1991 |
| 22 | Kogi | Lokoja | The Confluence State | 1991 |
| 23 | Kwara | Ilorin | The state of Harmony | 1967 |
| 24 | Lagos | Ikeja | Centre of Excellence | 1967 |
| 25 | Nasarawa | Lafia | The home of Solid Minerals | 1996 |
| 26 | Niger | Minna | The power State | 1976 |
| 27 | Ogun | Abeokuta | The Gateway State | 1976 |
| 28 | Ondo | Akure | The sunshine State | 1976 |
| 29 | Osun | Oshogbo | Old slogan: State of living spring New slogan: Land of virtue | 1991 |
| 30 | Oyo | Ibadan | The pace setter State | 1991 |
| 31 | Plateau | Jos | Home of peace and tourism | 1976 |
| 32 | Rivers | Port Harcourt | Treasure base of the Nation | 1967 |
| 33 | Sokoto | Sokoto | Seat of the Caliphate | 1976 |
| 34 | Taraba | Jalingo | Nature’s gift to the Nation | 1991 |
| 35 | Yobe | Damaturu | Old slogan: The young shall grow New slogan: Pride of the Sahel | 1991 |
| 36 | Zamfara | Gusau | Old slogan: Home of Agricultural Products New slogan: Farming is our pride | 1996 |
As noticeable from the table above, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is not included, and that is because it is not really a state.
It is as a matter of fact a territory and the administrative capital of Nigeria; and is therefore not under the leadership of any state government, but directly under the presidency.