4.5 out of 5 — 323695 votes

Time in Nigeria — regions, cities and time zones

Nigeria uses one time zone, West Africa Time at UTC+01:00, for the whole federation. Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt all keep the same clock, and daylight saving is not observed at any point in the year.

Flag of Nigeria Nigeria

Capital Abuja · Africa · ISO NG / NGA

Abuja, Nigeria

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC+1 · Africa/Lagos

Time and sun data for Abuja, Nigeria

The sun in Abuja

Sunrise 06:22 Solar noon 12:31 Sunset 18:39 Daylight 12 h 16 min Night 11 h 44 min Civil twilight 06:01 – 19:00

States and regions (38)

Current time in Abuja

Nigeria uses one time zone, West Africa Time at UTC+01:00, for the whole federation. Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt all keep the same clock, and daylight saving is not observed at any point in the year.

One zone for the whole federation

Nigeria is a federation of thirty-six states plus the Federal Capital Territory, and none of them keeps its own time. The single national offset, UTC+01:00, applies from the Lagos lagoon to the north-eastern border.

That uniformity is worth appreciating. In a country with this much internal variety — different climates, different daylight patterns between the humid south and the drier north — the clock is the one thing that is identical everywhere. A flight schedule, a bank's opening hours and a national broadcast all use the same reading, with no state-level exceptions to look up.

Thirty-six states, one clock. Whatever else varies across Nigeria, the time on the wall does not.

Cities and the working day

Abuja — the capital and seat of federal government, centrally located. Lagos — the largest city and commercial heart; most business hours you deal with in practice are Lagos hours. Kano — the major northern city, with a noticeably different daylight feel on the same clock.

Port Harcourt — the southern oil and shipping centre. Maiduguri and the north-east — furthest east, so the sun arrives earliest relative to the clock.

Why there is no summer time

Nigeria lies close to the equator, where the length of the day changes very little between January and July. Daylight saving exists to move usable light into waking hours in places where the seasonal swing is large; near the equator there is no swing worth chasing. So the clocks stay where they are, permanently.

For anyone scheduling internationally, this makes Nigeria a fixed reference point. The offset you use today will be the offset you use in six months.

Nigeria against other clocks

Against Central Europe, Nigeria is level in the European winter and an hour behind during European summer time. Against the United Kingdom, Nigeria is an hour ahead in winter and level during British Summer Time.

Against neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, there is no difference at all — all sit at UTC+01:00. Against Ghana to the west, Nigeria is an hour ahead year round. Against the US east coast, the gap is large and shifts by an hour twice a year, entirely because of changes on the American side.

Questions and answers
Does Nigeria have more than one time zone?
No. All states and the Federal Capital Territory use West Africa Time, UTC+01:00.
Does Nigeria change its clocks for daylight saving?
No. The offset is fixed all year, with no spring or autumn adjustment.
Is Lagos a different time from Abuja?
No. Lagos, Abuja and every other Nigerian city share the same clock.

Related tools and information

All pages