- Rivers State
-
Rivers State — State — Nickname(s): Treasure Base of the Nation Location of Rivers State in Nigeria
Coordinates: 4°45′N 6°50′E / 4.75°N 6.833°ECoordinates: 4°45′N 6°50′E / 4.75°N 6.833°E Country 
NigeriaDate created 27 May 1967 Capital Port Harcourt Government – Governor[1] Chibuike Amaechi (PDP) – Senators - George Thompson Sekibo
- Lee Maeba
- Wilson Ake
– Representatives List Area – Total 11,077 km2 (4,276.9 sq mi) Area rank 26 of 36 Population – Estimate (2005) 6,689,087 GDP (PPP) – Year 2007 – Total $21.07 billion[2] – Per capita $3,965[2] Time zone WAT (UTC+01) ISO 3166 code NG-RI Website riversstate.gov.ng Rivers State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. Its capital is Port Harcourt. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states. Rivers state is home to a variety of ethnic groups, including Abua, Andoni, Ekpeye, Engenni, Etche, lbani, lkwerre, Kalabari, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Okrika and Ogoni.[3]
The inland part of Rivers state consists of tropical rainforest; towards the coast the typical Niger Delta environment features many mangrove swamps.
Rivers state, named after the many rivers that border its territory, was part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate from 1885 till 1893, when it became part of the Niger Coast Protectorate. In 1900 the region was merged with the chartered territories of the Royal Niger Company to form the colony of Southern Nigeria.
The state was formed in 1967 with the split of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. Until 1996 the state contained the area which is now in the Bayelsa State.
Contents
Administrative divisions
Rivers State is divided into twenty-three Local Government Areas (LGAs):
LGA Name Area (sq.km) Census 2006
populationAdministrative capital Postal
CodePort Harcourt 109 541,115 Port Harcourt 500 Obio-Akpor 260 464,789 Rumuokoro 500 Okrika 222 222,026 Okrika 500 Ogu/Bolo 89 74,683 Ogu 500 Eleme 138 190,884 Eleme 501 Tai 159 117,797 Sakpenwa 501 Gokana 126 228,828 Kpor 501 Khana 560 294,217 Bori 502 Oyigbo 248 122,687 Afam 502 Opobo/Nkoro 130 151,511 Opobo Town 503 Andoni 233 211,009 Ngo 503 Bonny 642 215,358 Bonny 503 Degema 1,011 249,773 Degema 504 Asari-Toru 113 220,100 Buguma 504 Akuku-Toru 1,443 156,006 Abonnema 504 Abua/Odual 704 282,988 Abua 510 Ahoada West 403 249,425 Akinima 510 Ahoada East 341 166,747 Ahoada 510 Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 969 284,010 Omuku 510 Emohua 831 201,901 Emohua 511 Ikwerre 655 189,726 Isiokpo 511 Etche 805 249,454 Okehi 512 Omuma 170 100,366 Eberi 512 Economy
Rivers State has one of the largest economies in Nigeria, mainly because of its crude oil. The State has two major refineries, two major seaports, airports, and various industrial estates spread across the state, particularly in the State capital.
Education
In 1999 the state had 2,805 Government primary schools and 243 secondary schools. The secondary schools are concentrated mainly in LGA headquarter towns and in Port Harcourt. Tertiary institutions include the University of Port Harcourt,Choba, Port Harcourt established by the Federal Government in 1975, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology,founded in 1980 by the State government, the School of Health Technology, Port Harcourt, established by the State government, the federally-owned polytechnic at Omoku and the state-owned Rivers State Polytechnic at Bori, the Rivers State University of Education (Ignatius Ajulu University)at Rumuolumeni, Nkpolu Oroworukwo and Ndele and the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Rumueme, Port Harcourt.[4] The Rivers State College of Arts and Science in Port Harcourt gained polytechnic status in 2006.[5]
See also
- Rivers State government
References
- ^ See List of Nigerian state governors for a list of prior governors
- ^ a b "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. http://www.cgidd.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ "Rivers State government website". http://www.riversstate.gov.ng/. Retrieved December 07 2010.
- ^ "SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE". OnlineNigeria. 2/10/2003. http://www.onlinenigeria.com/links/Riversstateadv.asp?blurb=364. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ "Rivers State College of Arts and Science". Rivers State College of Arts and Science. http://www.rivcasonline.com/index.asp. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
External links
Alfred Diete-Spiff • Zamani Lekwot • Suleiman Saidu • Melford Okilo • Fidelis Oyakhilome • Anthony Ukpo • Ernest Olawunmi Adelaye • Godwin Abbe • Rufus Ada-George • Dauda Musa Komo • Musa Shehu • Sam Ewang • Peter Odili • Celestine Omehia • Rotimi Amaechi
States of NigeriaAbia · 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 · Nasarawa · Niger · Ogun · Ondo · Osun · Oyo · Plateau · Rivers · Sokoto · Taraba · Yobe · Zamfara
Categories:- States of Nigeria
- Rivers State
- States in Igboland
- States and territories established in 1967
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
