Nasarawa State

Nasarawa State
—  State  —
Nickname(s): Home of Solid Minerals
Location of Nasarawa State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 8°32′N 8°18′E / 8.533°N 8.3°E / 8.533; 8.3Coordinates: 8°32′N 8°18′E / 8.533°N 8.3°E / 8.533; 8.3
Country	Nigeria
Date created	1 October 1996
Capital	Lafia
Government
– Governor[1]	Umaru Tanko Al-Makura
– Senators
– Representatives	List
Area
– Total	27,117 km2 (10,469.9 sq mi)
Population (2005)
– Total	2,040,097
– Density	75.2/km2 (194.9/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)
– Year	2007
– Total	$3.02 billion[2]
– Per capita	$1,588[2]
Time zone	WAT (UTC+01)
ISO 3166 code	NG-NA
Website	nasarawastate.org

Nasarawa State is a state in central Nigeria. Its capital is Lafia.

History

Nasarawa was created on 1 October 1996 by the Abacha government from the (today neighboring) Plateau State.^[3]

Geography

Nasarawa State is bounded in the north by Kaduna State, in the west by the Abuja Federal Capital Territory, in the south by Kogi and Benue States and in the east by Taraba and Plateau States.

A network of roads exist within the state, linking all the rural areas and major towns. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) operates train services from Kuru, Gombe and Maiduguri.

Local Government Areas

The thirteen Local Government Areas of Nasarawa State are:

• Akwanga
• Awe
• Doma
• Karu
• Keana
• Keffi
• Kokona
• Lafia
• Nasarawa
• Nasarawa Egon
• Obi
• Toto
• Wamba

Economy

Concrete block factory in Nasarawa State.

Nasarawa State has agriculture as the mainstay of its economy with the production of varieties of cash crops throughout the year. It is also contains minerals such as salt and bauxite.

Education

The state has a Federal Polytechnic in Nasarawa local Government Area of the state, College of Education in Akwanga, Nasarawa State University in Keffi,a newly established Federal University of Lafia in Lafia town, and other vocational training schools.

Tourism

Nassarawa state is home to the Farin Ruwa Falls in Wamba local Government area of the state. Farin Ruwa falls is reputed to be one of the highest falls in Africa.^[4].

References

1. ^ See List of Governors of Nasarawa State for a list of prior governors
2. ^ ^{a b} "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. http://www.cgidd.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 
3. ^ Brief Data
4. ^ Dreaming of Farin Ruwa | GlobalPost

External links

Nigeria portal

• Nasarawa State website