The former Western State 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 ...

was formed in 1967 when the Western Region was subdivided into the states of

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

and Western State. Its capital was

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...

, which was the capital of the old region. In 1976, the state was subdivided into three new states, Ogun, Ondo and

Oyo Oyo can refer to: Places Nigeria * Oyo Empire, a former Yoruba state that covered parts of Nigeria and Benin, or the capital city * Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire * Oyo, Oyo State, a city founded in the 18 ...

. The region now consist of nine states, across three geopolitical zones: Delta,

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 ...

, Ekiti, Kwara,

, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

is the largest state in South West. It covers an area of 28,454km2.

can be said to be the most prominent state with over 20 million people residing therein.

See also

References

Further reading