After the Civil War, General Yakubu Gowon created 12 states to replace the four regions in place before the independence.
The eastern region, western region, and northern region were abolished and replaced by twelve states, which would be later divided into 36 states by other Nigerian heads of state.
General Yakubu Gowon created these states to solve the problem of ethnic, administrative, and cultural imbalance to prevent a civil war.
List of 12 States Created by Yakubu Gowon
- North-Western State,
- North-Eastern state,
- Kano State,
- North-Central State,
- Benue-Plateau State,
- Kwara State, Western State,
- Lagos State,
- Mid-Western State,
- Rivers State,
- South-Eastern State
- East-Central State
Gowon Created these States to reduce Ojukwu’s influence in the region when the tension of the eastern region forming their own country was high.
He mainly created the states to weaken the support of the secession in the eastern region by calving out minority ethnic groups in the eastern region.
Gowon also aimed to carve out the region where crude oil was recently discovered from the eastern region.
