Nigeria Acronyms.
Here is a list of 100 of the most popular acronyms peculiar to Nigeria, covering government, education,
finance, and informal/slang terms:
I. Government, Politics & Security (1-35)
| # | Acronym | Full Meaning (Context) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | FGN | Federal Government of Nigeria |
| 2. | FCT | Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) |
| 3. | LGA | Local Government Area |
| 4. | NNPC | Nigerian National Petroleum Company (now NNPC Ltd.) |
| 5. | CBN | Central Bank of Nigeria |
| 6. | INEC | Independent National Electoral Commission |
| 7. | EFCC | Economic and Financial Crimes Commission |
| 8. | NDLEA | National Drug Law Enforcement Agency |
| 9. | NSCDC | Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps |
| 10. | NPF | Nigeria Police Force |
| 11. | DSS | Department of State Services (Security) |
| 12. | FRSC | Federal Road Safety Corps |
| 13. | NEMA | National Emergency Management Agency |
| 14. | APC | All Progressives Congress (Major Political Party) |
| 15. | PDP | Peoples Democratic Party (Major Political Party) |
| 16. | APGA | All Progressives Grand Alliance (Political Party) |
| 17. | NLC | Nigerian Labour Congress |
| 18. | FEC | Federal Executive Council |
| 19. | JTF | Joint Task Force (Military/Security Operations) |
| 20. | DPO | Divisional Police Officer |
| 21. | NAFDAC | National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control |
| 22. | CAC | Corporate Affairs Commission |
| 23. | BVAS | Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (Elections) |
| 24. | SARs | Special Anti-Robbery Squad (now defunct, highly recognized) |
| 25. | NDDC | Niger Delta Development Commission |
| 26. | PIB | Petroleum Industry Bill/Act |
| 27. | CAM | Companies and Allied Matters Act |
| 28. | FIRS | Federal Inland Revenue Service |
| 29. | MOU | Memorandum of Understanding (Widespread use) |
| 30. | OAGF | Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation |
| 31. | ECOWAS | Economic Community of West African States |
| 32. | IDP | Internally Displaced Person(s) |
| 33. | MNI | Member of the National Institute (Prestige title) |
| 34. | OFR | Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (National Honour) |
| 35. | CFR | Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (National Honour) |
II. Education & Youth Service (36-55)
| # | Acronym | Full Meaning (Context) |
|---|---|---|
| 36. | NYSC | National Youth Service Corps |
| 37. | PPA | Place of Primary Assignment (NYSC) |
| 38. | CD | Community Development (NYSC) |
| 39. | JAMB | Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board |
| 40. | UTME | Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (JAMB) |
| 41. | WAEC | West African Examinations Council |
| 42. | NECO | National Examinations Council |
| 43. | ASUU | Academic Staff Union of Universities |
| 44. | NANS | National Association of Nigerian Students |
| 45. | NUC | National Universities Commission |
| 46. | PGD | Postgraduate Diploma |
| 47. | OND | Ordinary National Diploma (Polytechnic) |
| 48. | HND | Higher National Diploma (Polytechnic) |
| 49. | SSCE | Senior Secondary Certificate Examination |
| 50. | NCE | National Certificate in Education |
| 51. | LASU | Lagos State University |
| 52. | OAU | Obafemi Awolowo University |
| 53. | UNILAG | University of Lagos |
| 54. | UNIZIK | Nnamdi Azikiwe University |
| 55. | UNN | University of Nigeria, Nsukka |
III. Finance, Utilities & Infrastructure (56-75)
| # | Acronym | Full Meaning (Context) |
|---|---|---|
| 56. | PHCN | Power Holding Company of Nigeria (now defunct, still used) |
| 57. | NEPA | National Electric Power Authority (defunct, often used as slang for 'power outage') |
| 58. | DisCo | Distribution Company (Electricity) || 59. | GenCo | Generation Company (Electricity) |
| 60. | TCN | Transmission Company of Nigeria |
| 61. | ATMs | Automated Teller Machines (Ubiquitous use) |
| 62. | POS | Point of Sale (Used for electronic payments and cash withdrawals) |
| 63. | BVN | Bank Verification Number |
| 64. | TIN | Tax Identification Number |
| 65. | NIM | National Identification Number (Common mispronunciation of NIN) |
| 66. | NIN | National Identification Number |
| 67. | GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications (Often used as a general term for 'mobile
phone service') |
| 68. | DSTV | Digital Satellite Television (Popular cable TV service) |
| 69. | I&E | Import & Export |
| 70. | P-A-Y-E | Pay As You Earn (Tax System) |
| 71. | NPA | Nigerian Ports Authority |
| 72. | FAAN | Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria |
| 73. | NTA | Nigerian Television Authority |
| 74. | AIT | African Independent Television |
| 75. | VON | Voice of Nigeria |
IV. Slang, Informal, & Social Acronyms (76-100)
These are widely used informal acronyms, often humorous or derived from Nigerian Pidgin.
| # | Acronym | Full Meaning (Context) |
|---|---|---|
| 76. | ITK | I-Too-Know (A know-it-all) |
| 77. | GFM | God Favour Me (Expression of hope/blessing) |
| 78. | GGM | God Go Make Way (Expression of hope/encouragement) |
| 79. | DHL | Dead Hopes of Lagos (A cynical/humorous reinterpretation of the courier company) |
| 80. | FOH | F*** Outta Here (Used in social media/text) |
| 81. | TBD | To Be Decided (Commonly used in formal/informal scheduling) |
| 82. | DIY | Do It Yourself (Common across social/craft groups) |
| 83. | RT | Retweet (Common on social media) |
| 84. | DM | Direct Message (Common on social media) |
| 85. | ASAP | As Soon As Possible (Ubiquitous use) |
| 86. | CEO | Chief Executive Officer (Often used to address an entrepreneur/boss informally) |
| 87. | PM | Prime Minister (Used in historical/political context) |
| 88. | Bros | Brother (General use, not a true acronym but often used in place of 'BR') |
| 89. | Sis | Sister (General use) |
| 90. | Omo | Son/Child (Yoruba, often used in slang as an exclamation) |
| 91. | Wetin | What is it? (Pidgin, not an acronym, but essential to local chat) |
| 92. | NFA | No Future Ambition (A derogatory term for someone who is lazy/unmotivated) |
| 93. | PHD | Pull Him Down (Syndrome) (Envy/malice towards others' success) |
| 94. | WTMG | You Must've Heard (Slang popularized in music) |
| 95. | LOL | Laugh Out Loud (High-frequency social media use) |
| 96. | TBH | To Be Honest (High-frequency social media use) |
| 97. | FYI | For Your Information (Widespread use) |
| 98. | AKA | Also Known As (Widespread use) |
| 99. | VIP | Very Important Person (Widespread use) |
| 100. | NGO | Non-Governmental Organization (Widely used in the development sector) |
