Akwa Ibom Turns 27: 6 Amazing Facts About Akwa Ibom + Pictures

1. THE NAME AKWA IBOM

Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria named after the Qua Iboe river. It is located in the coastal South-Southern part 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 andAbia State, and on the South by the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost tip of Cross River State.

2. THE STATE

Akwa Ibom is one of Nigeria’s 36 states with a population of over 5 million people and more than 10 million people in diaspora. It was created in 1987 from the former Cross River State and is currently the highest oil and gas producing state in the country. The state’s capital is Uyo with over 500,000 inhabitants . Akwa Ibom has an airport (Akwa Ibom International Airport) and two major sea ports on the Atlantic Ocean with a proposed construction of a world class seaport Ibaka Seaport at Oron. Along with English, the main spoken languages are Ibibio, Annang, Eket, Igbo and Oron languages.

The people are predominantly of the Christian faith. The main ethnic groups of the state are:

3. MAJOR CITIES

Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom State. Eket, Ikot Ekpene, Oron, Abak, Ikot Abasi, Ikono and Etinan, Essien udim.

4. Education

The current region of Akwa Ibom State in old Calabar Kingdom were the first to encounter Western education in Nigeria with the establishment of Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar in 1895, Methodist Boys High School, Oron in 1905 and other top flight schools such as the Holy Family College at Abak and Regina Coeli College, Essene. Currently various institutions for higher education have sprung up and spread across the state.

Some Educational Institutes in the state include:

5. List of Governors of Akwa Ibom State
This is a list of administrators and governors of Akwa Ibom State.

Name	Title	Tribe> Ibibio	Left Office	Party
Tunde Ogbeha	Governor	28 September 1987	30 July 1988	-
Godwin Abbe	Governor	31 July 1988	5 September 1990	-
Idongesit Nkanga Tribe> Ibibio	Governor	5 September 1990	2 January 1992	-
Akpan Isemin Ibibio	Governor	2 January 1992	18 November 1993	NRC
Yakubu Bako	Administrator	15 December 1993	21 August 1996	-
Joseph Adeusi	Administrator	21 August 1996	9 August 1998	-
John Ebiye	Administrator	9 August 1998	29 May 1999	-
Victor Attah Ibibio	Governor	29 May 1999	29 May 2007	PDP
Godswill Akpabio Annang	Governor	29 May 2007	Present	PDP