# Federal Structure of Nigeria

> Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, organised under the 1999 Constitution into three constitutionally recognised tiers — federal, state, and local government — with 774 local government areas listed by name in the Constitution's First Schedule. Legislative power is divided among exclusive, concurrent, and residual lists, and revenue is shared monthly through a Federation Account formula.

**Category:** Politics & Government · **Updated:** 2026-07-26 19:36:35 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/federal-structure-of-nigeria

## Key facts
- **Form of state:** Federal Republic, per Section 2(2) of the 1999 Constitution
- **States:** 36, plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja
- **Local government areas:** 774 (768 LGAs + 6 area councils in the FCT)
- **Constitutional basis:** Sections 2, 3, 7 and the First and Second Schedules, 1999 Constitution
- **Exclusive Legislative List items:** 68, reserved to the National Assembly alone
- **Concurrent Legislative List items:** 30, shared between federal and state legislatures
- **Revenue split (Federal:State:LG):** 52.68% : 26.72% : 20.60%, per the 1992 RMAFC-derived formula still in force
- **As of:** 23 July 2026

## Sources
- Chapter 1, Section 3: States of the Federation and the FCT, Abuja — Nigerian Constitution (nigerian-constitution.com, text of the 1999 Constitution as amended) (https://nigerian-constitution.com/chapter-1-part-1-section-3-states-federation-federal-capital-territory-abuja/)
- Number of Local Governments in Nigeria: 774 LGAs — LegalClarity (https://legalclarity.org/number-of-local-governments-in-nigeria-774-lgas/)
- The Exclusive Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List — a case for restructuring or Constitutional defect? — Mondaq / Nigerian legal commentary (https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/constitutional-administrative-law/1135644/the-exclusive-legislative-list-and-the-concurrent-legislative-list-a-case-for-restructuring-or-constitutional-defect)
- Revenue Allocation — Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) (https://neiti.gov.ng/revenue-allocation)
- Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 — Updated with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Alteration — Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) (https://placng.org/i/documents/constitution-of-the-federal-republic-of-nigeria-1999-updated-with-the-1st-2nd-3rd-4th-and-5th-alteration/)
- The fifth alteration to the Nigerian constitution: anticipated impact on the Nigerian electricity sector — Lexology (https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=fb316d73-9a37-48a9-af0a-2f4681639547)

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