Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Brief History of Imo state

Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been previously part of East-Central State. The state is named after the Imo River.[3] Part of it was split off in 1991 as Abia State, and another part became Ebonyi State. The main cities in Imo State are Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe. The Orashi River has its source in this state. The local language is Igbo and Christianity is the predominant religion. Imo state was created at Ngwoma.
Geography
Imo State lies within latitudes 4°45'N and 7°15'N, and longitude 6°50'E and 7°25'E with an area of around 5,100 sq km.[4] It is bordered by Abia State on the East, by the River Niger and Delta State on the west, by Anambra State to the north and Rivers State to the south. Besides Owerri, Imo State's major towns are Isu, Okigwe, Oguta, Orlu, Mbaise, Mbano, Mbaitoli, Mbieri, Orodo, Nkwerre and Orsu.
The state is rich in natural resources including crude oil, natural gas, lead, zinc.[5] Economically exploitable flora like the iroko, mahogany, obeche, bamboo, rubber tree and oil palm predominate. However with a high population density and over farming the soil has been degraded and much of the native vegetation has disappeared.[4]
This deforestation has triggered soil erosion which is compounded by heavy seasonal rainfall that has led to the destruction of houses and roads.

Government

The state has a three tier administrative structure: State, Local and Autonomous community levels. The three arms at state level are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The executive arm is headed by an elected Governor who is assisted by a deputy governor, commissioners and executive advisers.
The legislative arm is headed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly who is currently speaker Rt. Hon.Benjamin Uwajumogu. The remainder of the house is made up of elected legislators and is the lawmaking body of the state.
The judiciary is made up of the high court of justice and customary court of appeal and is headed by the Chief Judge of the state.[10]

Ministries

  • Justice
  • Agriculture and Natural Resources
  • Education
  • Health
  • Commerce
  • Industry and Tourism
  • Finance
  • Works and Transport

Language

English, Igbo

Local Government Areas

Imo State is made up of twenty-seven Local Government Areas:

Demographics

The estimated population is 4.8 million and the population density varies from 230-1,400 people per square kilometer.[4]
Imo state is a predominantly Igbo speaking state, with Igbo people constituting a majority of 98%.[11]

Education

There are several institutions of higher education with some being run by the state government and others by the federal government. The two universities being Imo State University and the Federal University of Technology Owerri.[12]

Notable people

Notable people from Imo State include:

Clerics

Sports

Arts

Politics

Academia

Miscellaneous


Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)