Nigeria

Nigerian States, Capitals and Slogans

All 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, with each capital, the slogan printed on its vehicle number plates, and when and from what it was created.

States, capitals and plate slogans

Sorted by name, with the Federal Capital Territory last. Linked names have a full place page with videos, words and stories.

Nigerian states with capital, plate slogan, date created and the state or region each was created from
State	Capital	Plate slogan	Created	Created from
Abia	Umuahia	God's Own State	27 Aug 1991	Imo State
Adamawa	Yola	Land of Beautynote	27 Aug 1991	Gongola State (split into Adamawa and Taraba)
Akwa Ibom	Uyo	The Land of Promisenote	23 Sep 1987	Cross River State (formerly the South-Eastern State)
Anambra	Awka	Light of the Nationnote	27 Aug 1991	The old Anambra State (1976–1991)
Bauchi	Bauchi	Pearl of Tourism	3 Feb 1976	North-Eastern State
Bayelsa	Yenagoa	Glory of All Landsnote	1 Oct 1996	Rivers State
Benue	Makurdi	Food Basket of the Nationnote	3 Feb 1976	Benue-Plateau State
Borno	Maiduguri	Home of Peace	3 Feb 1976	North-Eastern State
Cross River	Calabar	The People's Paradise	27 May 1967	Eastern Region, as South-Eastern State (renamed Cross River in 1976)
Delta	Asaba	The Big Heartnote	27 Aug 1991	Bendel State (split into Delta and Edo)
Ebonyi	Abakaliki	Salt of the Nation	1 Oct 1996	Parts of Abia and Enugu states
Edo	Benin City	Heartbeat of Nigerianote	27 Aug 1991	The former Bendel State
Ekiti	Ado-Ekiti	Land of Honour and Integritynote	1 Oct 1996	Ondo State
Enugu	Enugu	Coal City Statenote	27 Aug 1991	The old Anambra State (1976–1991)
Gombe	Gombe	Jewel in the Savannahnote	1 Oct 1996	Bauchi State
Imo	Owerri	Eastern Heartlandnote	3 Feb 1976	East Central State (1967–1976)
Jigawa	Dutse	The New Worldnote	27 Aug 1991	Kano State
Kaduna	Kaduna	Centre of Learningnote	27 May 1967	Northern Region, as North-Central State (renamed Kaduna in 1976)
Kano	Kano	Centre of Commerce	27 May 1967	Northern Region
Katsina	Katsina	Home of Hospitality	23 Sep 1987	Kaduna State
Kebbi	Birnin Kebbi	Land of Equity	27 Aug 1991	Sokoto State
Kogi	Lokoja	The Confluence State	27 Aug 1991	Parts of Kwara and Benue states
Kwara	Ilorin	State of Harmony	27 May 1967	Northern Region, first named West Central State
Lagos	Ikeja	Centre of Excellence	27 May 1967	The former Western Region and the Federal Territory of Lagos
Nasarawa	Lafia	Home of Solid Minerals	1 Oct 1996	Plateau State
Niger	Minna	The Power State	3 Feb 1976	North-Western State
Ogun	Abeokuta	Gateway Statenote	3 Feb 1976	Western State
Ondo	Akure	Sunshine State	3 Feb 1976	Western State
Osun	Osogbo	Land of Virtuenote	27 Aug 1991	Oyo State
Oyo	Ibadan	Pace Setter Statenote	3 Feb 1976	The old Western State
Plateau	Jos	Home of Peace and Tourism	3 Feb 1976	Benue-Plateau State
Rivers	Port Harcourt	Treasure Base of the Nation	27 May 1967	Eastern Region
Sokoto	Sokoto	Seat of the Caliphatenote	3 Feb 1976	North-Western State
Taraba	Jalingo	Nature's Gift to the Nation	27 Aug 1991	The former Gongola State
Yobe	Damaturu	Pride of the Sahel	27 Aug 1991	Borno State
Zamfara	Gusau	Farming is Our Pride	1 Oct 1996	Sokoto State
Abuja (FCT)	Abuja	Centre of Unity	3 Feb 1976	Parts of the then Niger, Plateau, Kwara and Kaduna states

When each state was created

Today’s states, grouped by the year they took their present form.

States created in 1967

6 on this list, created on 27 May 1967 unless noted.

Cross River, from Eastern Region, as South-Eastern State (renamed Cross River in 1976)
Kaduna, from Northern Region, as North-Central State (renamed Kaduna in 1976)
Kano, from Northern Region
Kwara, from Northern Region, first named West Central State
Lagos, from the former Western Region and the Federal Territory of Lagos
Rivers, from Eastern Region

States created in 1976

11 on this list, created on 3 February 1976 unless noted.

Bauchi, from North-Eastern State
Benue, from Benue-Plateau State
Borno, from North-Eastern State
Imo, from East Central State (1967–1976)
Niger, from North-Western State
Ogun, from Western State
Ondo, from Western State
Oyo, from the old Western State
Plateau, from Benue-Plateau State
Sokoto, from North-Western State
Abuja (FCT), from parts of the then Niger, Plateau, Kwara and Kaduna states

States created in 1987

2 on this list, created on 23 September 1987 unless noted.

Akwa Ibom, from Cross River State (formerly the South-Eastern State)
Katsina, from Kaduna State

States created in 1991

12 on this list, created on 27 August 1991 unless noted.

Abia, from Imo State
Adamawa, from Gongola State (split into Adamawa and Taraba)
Anambra, from the old Anambra State (1976–1991)
Delta, from Bendel State (split into Delta and Edo)
Edo, from the former Bendel State
Enugu, from the old Anambra State (1976–1991)
Jigawa, from Kano State
Kebbi, from Sokoto State
Kogi, from parts of Kwara and Benue states
Osun, from Oyo State
Taraba, from the former Gongola State
Yobe, from Borno State

States created in 1996

6 on this list, created on 1 October 1996 unless noted.

Bayelsa, from Rivers State
Ebonyi, from parts of Abia and Enugu states
Ekiti, from Ondo State
Gombe, from Bauchi State
Nasarawa, from Plateau State
Zamfara, from Sokoto State

Notes on the slogans

Plate wording changes between issues, and sources do not always agree. Where they differ, these notes say which wording we use and why.

Adamawa: Land of Beauty: Land of Beauty is the wording in the state infobox, Wikipedia's nickname list, Nigeria Galleria and CurrentAffairs.ng. Wikipedia's plate table gives "Land of Dairy or Land of Beauty", and OldNaija (2016) reports a newer "Highest Peak of the Nation".
Akwa Ibom: The Land of Promise: The slogan on Akwa Ibom vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; the state government often shortens it to Land of Promise
Anambra: Light of the Nation: The slogan on Anambra vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; older plates carried the earlier slogan Home for All, and you can still see them on the road
Bayelsa: Glory of All Lands: Wikipedia's plate table prints it as "The Glory of All Lands".
Benue: Food Basket of the Nation: Wikipedia's plate table also lists "The Food of the Nation".
Delta: The Big Heart: OldNaija (2016) reports "The Finger of God" as a newer slogan; the plate table and the other sources give "The Big Heart".
Edo: Heartbeat of Nigeria: The slogan on Edo vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; Edo is just as often called the Heartbeat of the Nation
Ekiti: Land of Honour and Integrity: The former slogan "Fountain of Knowledge" is still seen on older plates; Wikipedia's plate table gives "Fountain of Knowledge or Land of Honour".
Enugu: Coal City State: The slogan on Enugu vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; the capital itself is simply called "Coal City"
Gombe: Jewel in the Savannah: Wikipedia's plate table and CurrentAffairs.ng give "Jewel of the Savannah"; Wikipedia's nickname list, Nigeria Galleria and OldNaija give "Jewel in the Savannah".
Imo: Eastern Heartland: The slogan on Imo vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; for a few years in the 2010s the state used the slogan Land of Hope instead
Jigawa: The New World: Wikipedia's plate table prints it as "A New World"; the state infobox, the nickname list and the other sources give "The New World".
Kaduna: Centre of Learning: The former slogan was "Liberal State".
Ogun: Gateway State: Wikipedia's plate table prints it as "The Gateway State".
Osun: Land of Virtue: Plates carry either "Land of Virtue" or "State of the Living Spring". Premium Times (2026) calls Land of Virtue the official slogan and the other the popular name; Wikipedia's nickname list has them the other way round.
Oyo: Pace Setter State: The slogan on Oyo vehicle number plates, printed under the state name; you will also see it written Pace-Setter State
Sokoto: Seat of the Caliphate: Wikipedia's plate table also lists the Hausa wording "Sarakunan Daular Usmaniyya".

Explore Nigerian places

Full pages with real videos, first words and folktales open one place at a time. See the Nigerian places that are live.

Sources

States with their own page list the sources for their facts on that page.