With 167,639 applications, the North West zone accounts for the highest number of student loan submissions, representing a significant concentration of demand in that region.
The North East follows with 134,359 applications, bringing the northern region's combined total to over 300,000, more than half of all zonal submissions.
The South West stands as the highest-contributing southern zone with 104,079 applications, showing a strong but comparatively lower demand than the North.
The South East recorded just 29,097 applications, the lowest across all six geopolitical zones.
Kano State has the highest number of LGAs in Nigeria, with 44, far exceeding the national average of 21 LGAs per state.
Bayelsa, Nasarawa, and the FCT have the fewest LGAs, recording 8, 13, and 6 respectively, despite varying population sizes and landmass.
Northern states dominate the upper tier of the LGA count, with Katsina (34), Oyo (33), and Jigawa (27) all ranking among the top.
Southern states tend to have fewer LGAs, with Lagos and Ogun, two highly urbanised states, having just 20 LGAs each, hinting at a denser governance structure per area.
Lagos had the highest female representation in Nigeria’s 2023 elections, with 114 female candidates, more than any other state.
Yobe recorded the lowest, with just 7 female candidates, highlighting a wide disparity in representation across regions.
The South East and South South zones recorded some of the strongest numbers overall, with Imo (86) and Rivers (85) nearly matching Lagos.
The South West led overall in female candidate numbers, while the North East trailed, with its highest (Gombe – 42) still lower than other zones’ peaks.
Lagos carried the South-West VAT burden, remitting ₦305.52B (89.6% of the region's total) but receiving only ₦62.59B (20.5% return), making it the highest net contributor in Nigeria.
Osun had the most disproportionate gain, remitting a mere ₦590M but receiving ₦7.73B, an astronomical 1,211% return—the highest redistribution gain in the South-West.
The entire South-West remitted ₦341.18B but received only ₦106.85B, meaning it got back just ₦0.31 for every ₦1 contributed, highlighting a severe VAT allocation imbalance.
Ondo and Ogun remitted only ₦3.3B but received ₦16B combined, far exceeding their generated VAT, while Lagos alone subsidised most of the allocations across the country.
The South-East remitted ₦10.94 billion in VAT but received ₦39.15 billion, a 257.7% increase, showing a high reliance on VAT sharing.
Abia, the lowest contributor (₦734M), received ₦7.29B, nearly 10× its remittance, making it the biggest relative beneficiary in the region.
Anambra, the highest contributor (₦3.56B), received only ₦8.72B, showing a sharing trend where high-contributing states do not necessarily receive the most.
Every South-East state received at least 2× what they remitted, with an average allocation of ₦7.83B despite an average contribution of just ₦2.19B.
The North-West region received ₦66.55 billion, more than double its remittance (₦28.31B), showing a heavy reliance on federal VAT sharing.
Zamfara, the lowest contributor (₦1.45B), received the highest percentage gain (+433%), getting ₦7.72B, while Kano, the highest contributor (₦9.59B), had the smallest relative gain (+41.5%).
Kaduna and Katsina, despite remitting ₦3.50B and ₦3.86B, received ₦10.18B and ₦10.01B, respectively, nearly tripling their remittance.
Kano remitted 34% of the zone’s VAT but received only 20.4% of the total allocation, reinforcing that VAT is distributed based on equality and not economic strength.
The North-East remitted only ₦14.98 billion but received ₦46.68 billion, showing a 211.6% gain due to sharing.
Taraba, the lowest contributor (₦0.94 billion), saw the highest percentage gain (635%) with an allocation of ₦6.91 billion, reinforcing that smaller economies benefit the most from VAT sharing.
Bauchi, despite remitting just ₦2.44 billion, received the highest allocation (₦8.93 billion), a 266% increase, illustrating how VAT is shared based on equality and population, not economic activity.
Every state in the region received at least 2× what they remitted, highlighting the North East’s reliance on VAT sharing and fuelling the fiscal federalism debate on whether VAT should be retained at the state level.
