The

Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

is divided into six geopolitical zones, commonly just called zones. They are a type of

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

grouping the country's states, created during the regime of president

General Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...

. Nigerian economic, political, and educational resources are often shared across the zones. The six zones were not entirely carved out based on geographic location, but rather states with similar ethnic groups, and/or common political history were classified in the same zone. Nigeria is made up of approximately 400

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

s and 450

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

s. There was a need for the government to merge similar groups for effective allocation of resources.

Agitations for constitutional recognition

Many groups and individuals in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

including the Afenifere Renewal Movement through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Ohaneze Ndigbo, its late Secretary General, Chief Ralph Uwechue and

Ijaw National Congress {{unreferenced, date=February 2017 The Ijaw National Congress (INC) is a representative body formed in 1991. Members are elected from among the various constituent communities speaking dialects of the Ijaw language The Izon languages (), otherwis ...

through its National President, Mr. Joshua Benameisigha have canvassed that the current six zonal divisions be recognized in

's constitution and be strengthened to function as federating units in the new structure for Nigeria. According to Chief Nengi James, a

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical ...

activist, "for all sections of the country to become one entity, the geopolitical zones must be recognized in the constitution." These groups are pushing for devolution of powers so that the geopolitical zones become autonomous and manage the resources within their territories in a federal Nigeria.

List of zones

* North Central: ** Consisting of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa,

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesPlateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

States, as well as the

Federal Capital Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

. *

North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

: ** Consisting of Adamawa,

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

, Borno, Gombe,

Taraba Taraba can refer to: * Taraba State * Taraba River The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River. It joins the Benue on a floodplain 10 km wide and 50 km across. The major towns along the River Ta ...

, and

Yobe Yobe is a state located in northeastern Nigeria. A mainly agricultural state, it was created on 27 August 1991. Yobe State was carved out of Borno State. The capital of Yobe State is Damaturu; and it's largest and most populated city is Potisku ...

States. * North West: ** Consisting of

Jigawa Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and

Zamfara Zamfara (Hausa: Jihar Zamfara Fula: Leydi Zamfara 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤶𞤢𞤥𞤬𞤢𞤪𞤢) is a state in northwestern Nigeria. The capital of Zamfara state is Gusau and its current Governor is Bello Matawalle. Until 1996, the area was ...

States. *

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

: ** Consisting of Abia,

Anambra Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi Stat ...

Ebonyi Abakaliki is a Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It's headquarters are in the town of Nkaliki. It has an area of 443 km and a population of 126,837 based on the census conducted i2006. Thehe postal code A postal code (al ...

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

, and Imo States. *

South South The South South (often hyphenated to the South-South) is the one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross R ...

(also known as Niger Delta region) ** Consisting of Akwa Ibom,

Bayelsa Bayelsa is one of the states in the South-South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta region. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. Yenag ...

, Cross River,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, and

Rivers A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

States. *

South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

: ** Consisting of Ekiti,

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

, Ogun,

Ondo Ondo may refer to: Japan * Ondo, Hiroshima * Ondo (music), a style of folk music * ''Ondo'' class oiler, ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy Nigeria * Ondo City * Ondo State * Roman Catholic Diocese of Ondo * Ondo Kingdom (c. 1510–1899) People ...

, Osun, and Oyo States.

References

{{Nigeria topics Politics of Nigeria Subdivisions of Nigeria