Benue (state)

Need
Basic data
Capital :	Makurdi
founded:	3rd February 1976
Governor :	Samuel Ortom
ISO 3166-2 :	NG-BE
surface
Area :	34,059 km²
Rank in Nigeria:	11
population
Residents :	5,741,800 (2016)
Population density :	169 inhabitants / km² (2016)
Rank in Nigeria:	10

Location of Benue in Nigeria

Benue is a federal state in the West African country of Nigeria with the capital Makurdi , which is also the largest city in the state with 292,664 inhabitants (2005).

geography

The state is located in the southeast of the country and is bordered to the north by the state of Nassarawa , to the southwest by the states of Ebonyi and Enugu , to the southeast by the state of Cross River and Cameroon , to the west by the state of Kogi and to the east by the state of Taraba .

history

The state was formed on February 3, 1976 from part of the former Benue Plateau state . The first governor was Abdullahi Shelleng between March 1976 and July 1978 . The current governor has been Samuel Ortom since May 29, 2015 .

List of governors and administrators

• Abdullahi Shelleng (Governor 1976–1978)
• Adebayo Lawal (Governor 1978–1979)
• Aper Aku (governor 1979–1983)
• John Kpera (Governor 1984–1985)
• David Jang (Governor 1985–1986)
• Yohanna Madaki (Governor 1986)
• Ishaya Bakul (Governor 1986–1987)
• Idris Garba (governor 1987)
• Fidelis Makka (governor 1987–1992)
• Moses Adesu (Governor 1992–1993)
• Joshua O. Obademi (Administrator 1993–1996)
• Aminu Isa Kontagora (administrator 1996–1998)
• Dominic Oneya (Administrator 1998–1999)
• George Akume (Governor 1999-2007)
• Gabriel Suswam (Governor 2007-2015)
• Samuel Ortom (Governor 2015–)

administration

The state is divided into 23 Local Government Areas . These are: Agatu, Apa, Apo, Bukuru, Gboko, Guma, Gwer East, Gwer West, Katsina-Ala, Konshisha, Kwande, Logo, Makurdi, Obi, Ogbadibo, Ohimini, Oju, Opkokwu, Oturpko, Tarka, Ukum, Ushongo and Vandeikya.

economy

The main industry in Benue is agriculture . There are yams , rice , beans , cassava , potatoes , corn , soybeans , sorghum and millet grown. With a share of 70 percent, the state is the largest producer of soybeans in Nigeria.

Benue is also rich in natural resources . These include: limestone , gypsum , anhydrite , kaolin , natural gas , salt , petroleum , zinc , barium sulfate , clay , coal , calcite and magnetite . Of these raw materials, only limestone and kaolin are used commercially.