NIGERIA TODAY

Nigeria became an independent nation on Oct. 1, 1960, and a republic in 1963, with a federal structure and three regional governments based on the compass points of north, east, and west. A fourth region the midwest, was later added.

The country's political structure was increased to twelve states in 1967, to nineteen states in 1976, with Abuja as the new federal capital. Between 1987 & 1991, a total of eleven states were created, and just recently in 1996, six additional states were added, bringing the administrative structure of the federation to thirty-six states.