Akwa Ibom

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Location
Akwa Ibom State State nickname: Land of Promise

Statistics
Current Governor Party Previous Governors	Victor Attah PDP
Date Created	23 September, 1987
Capital	Uyo
Area	7,081km² Ranked 30 of 36
Population 1991 Census 2005 (estimate)	Ranked 9 of 36 2,359736 4,805,451
ISO 3166-2	NG-AK
Website	Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria. It is located in the south-east of the country, lying between latitudes 4°321 and 5°331 North, and longitudes 7°251 and 8°251 East. The State is bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the South by the Atlantic Ocean.

Area: 8412.00 sq kilometres
Population: 3,000,000 (1993 est.)
Languages: Ibibio, Igbo, Annang, Ibeno, Eket

Uyo is the capital of Akwa Ibom State. Ikot Ekpene, Abak, Eket, Ibeno are a few of many prominent cities.

Ikot Ekpene, also called IK, is a very famous small town in Nigeria. It is located at an important junction in the south of the country, joining Calabar, the eastern port, with Port Harcourt, the southern port, Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State, and Eket, a major Oil producing town.

1 History
2 Administrative Divisions
3 People
4 Local Government Areas
5 Politics
6 External links

[edit] History

Akwa Ibom State was created out of Cross River State on September 23, 1987. Akwa Ibom was created by combining the Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Eket and Abak divisions of old Calabar province.

[edit] Administrative Divisions

Akwa Ibom is divided into 37 Local Government Areas, or LGAs:

Ikot-Ekpene
Essien-Udim
Abak
Ukanafun
Oruk-Anam
Mbo
Oron
Uquo-Ibeno
Eket
Itu
Uyo
Etinan
Ikot
Abasi
Ikono
Ekpe-Atai
Uruan
Onna
Nsit-Ubium
Mkpat-Enin
Ikono
Ika
Okobo
Eastern-Obolo
Esit-Eket
Etim-Ekpo
Ibeno
Ibesikpo-Asutan
Ibiono-Ibom
Ikot-Abasi
Ini
Nsit-Atai
Nsit-Ibom
Obot-Akara
Udung-Uko
Uruan
Urue-Offong/Oruko

[edit] People

Akwa Ibom State is made up of a homogeneous group of people believed to have originated from a single ancestral stock. The languages spoken in the state are closely related, and the Annang and Ibibio languages are mostly identical with a few dialectical differences. The Eket and Ibeno languages are more closely related to each other than to the other two, and are only partially understandable by speakers of the other two languages.

The people are predominantly of the Christian faith although some native African religions are practised by some of the people.

The inhabitants of the state are:

The Ibibio are the largest group, whilst the Annang, which form the second largest group, speak a language very similar to the Ibibio Language. Ibeno and Eket speak a similar language, and are located at the ocean. The Ibibio language belongs to the Benue-Congo language family, which forms part of the Niger-Congo group of languages.

[edit] Local Government Areas

Akwa lbom State has 31 Local Government Areas: Abak, Eket, Ika, Etinan, Nsit Atai, Essien-Udim, Ikono, Ikot Abasi, Ikot Ekpene, Itu, Mkpat-Enin, Mbo, Nsit-Ubium, Oron, Esit Eket, Okobo, Nsit Ibom, Etim Ekpo, Onna, Oruk-Anam, Ukanafun, Uyo, Uquo-Ibeno,Uruan, Obot Akara, Ibesikpo Asutan, Uruan, Urue Offong/Oruko and others.

[edit] Politics

Politics in Akwa Ibom state is played on a tripod, representing the three dominant ethnic groups comprising the Ibibio, Annang and Orons.

Of these three, the Ibibio remains the dominant and has held sway in the state power equation since its creation. This scenario has led to mild resentment by the Orons and the Annangs who would want to wrest power from the dominant Ibibio group. But the most consistent in this quest for power are the Annangs who are in the fore-front of this quest for a change of guard.

[edit] External links

States of Nigeria
Abia \| Abuja Federal Capital Territory \| Adamawa \| Akwa Ibom \| Anambra \| Bauchi \| Bayelsa \| Benue \| Borno \| Cross River \| Delta \| Ebonyi \| Edo \| Ekiti \| Enugu \| Gombe \| Imo \| Jigawa \| Kaduna \| Kano \| Katsina \| Kebbi \| Kogi \| Kwara \| Lagos \| Nassarawa \| Niger \| Ogun \| Ondo \| Osun \| Oyo \| Plateau \| Rivers \| Sokoto \| Taraba \| Yobe \| Zamfara