Federation Maps and Fact Sheets

Nigeria
Federalism introduced in 1954
Current federal Constitution adopted in 1999
Official Website of the federal government of Nigeria

Constituent units

• 36 states: 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; Nasawara; Niger; Ogun; Ondo; Osun; Oyo; Plateau; Rivers; Sokoto; Taraba; Yobe; Zamfara.
  Federal Capital Territory of Abuja
  • Map of the states of Nigeria
  • Official Websites of Delta, Edo and Nasarawa state governments.

Constitutional distribution of powers

• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in particular:
  • Powers of the National Assembly:
    • Chapter I, Part II, subsections 4[2], 4[3], 4[4]
    • Second Schedule, Part I: Exclusive Legislative List 
    • Second Schedule Part II: Concurrent Legislative List
  • Powers of the states:
    • Chapter I, Part II,  subsection 4[7]
    • Second Schedule, Part II, Concurrent Legislative List

  (Source: Official Website of the federal government of Nigeria)

Legislative Institutions

• Federal: Bicameral National Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states. The senators are directly elected by the people; there are three from each state and one from Abuja Federal Capital Territory.
  • Fact sheet on the Senate of Nigeria
  • The House of Representatives
  
  
• States: Each has a legislature (House of Assembly)
  • Official Websites of Delta, Edo and Nasarawa state governments.

Official languages

The Constitution states that English must be used in both houses of the National Assembly and, when appropriate measures taken, also Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba. The Constitution also stipulates that a state assembly may, along with English, use one or more languages spoken in that given state.

• Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria: Articles 55 and 97

Other links of interest

• Basic Facts About Nigeria
• Federations magazine (Forum of Federations), notably:
  • Nigeria: Does the center keep too much of the cash? Vol. 3. No. 2 / May 2003 (PDF)
  • Nigeria: Facing the challenges of globalization in a federal system, Vol. 3. No. 1 / February-March 2003 (PDF)