*23 local government areas, as listed in the First Schedule, Part I of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. The list is constitutional, not administrative: a state may create development areas, but only an alteration of the Constitution can create a local government that draws from the Federation Account. Section 162(5)–(8) routes each council's share through a State Joint Local Government Account controlled by the state government — the arrangement the Supreme Court ruled against in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Attorney-General of Abia State & 35 Ors (11 July 2024), holding that allocations must go directly to democratically elected councils.*
The 23 councils#
- Birnin Gwari
- Chikun
- Giwa
- Igabi
- Ikara
- Jaba
- Jema'a
- Kachia
- Kaduna North
- Kaduna South
- Kagarko
- Kajuru
- Kaura
- Kauru
- Kubau
- Kudan
- Lere
- Makarfi
- Sabon Gari
- Sanga
- Soba
- Zangon KatafUnprosecuted Massacre Cycle
- Zaria
Notes on the roster#
Zangon Kataf (1992), Kaduna North/South (2000 sharia riots) and Birnin Gwari (banditry since 2015) are the three LGAs through which most of Kaduna's modern violence has run.
References
Sources#
- Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), First Schedule Part I
- INEC local government delimitation register
- Supreme Court of Nigeria, SC/CV/343/2024, judgment of 11 July 2024 (local government financial autonomy)