Cross River (state)
Cross River | |
---|---|
Basic data | |
Capital : | Calabar |
founded: | May 27, 1967 |
Governor : | Benedict Ayade |
ISO 3166-2 : | NG-CR |
surface | |
Area : | 20,156 km² |
Rank in Nigeria: | 19th |
population | |
Residents : | 3,866,300 (2016) |
Population density : | 192 inhabitants / km² (2016) |
Rank in Nigeria: | 27 |
Cross River is a federal state in the West African country of Nigeria with the capital Calabar , which is also the largest city in the state with 461,832 inhabitants (2005).
geography
The state is located in the southeast of the country and is bordered to the north by the state of Benue , to the south by the Atlantic Ocean , to the west by the state of Abia , to the northwest by the state of Ebonyi , to the southwest by the state of Akwa Ibom and to the east by Cameroon . In the mountainous east of the state are the Obudu Plateau and the Cross River National Park , one of the eight national parks in Nigeria. Other nature reserves are the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary , the Mbe Mountains Community Wildlife Sanctuary , which together with the national park form a biosphere corridor and serve, among other things, to protect the 23 primate species occurring in the state .
history
The state was formed on May 27, 1967 under the name "South-Eastern". On February 3, 1976, it was renamed Cross River. The first governor of the state was Uduokaha J. Esuene between May 28, 1967 and July 1975 . The current governor has been Benedict Ayade since May 2015 .
List of governors and administrators
- Uduokaha J. Esuene (Governor 1967–1975)
- Paul Omu (Governor 1976–1978)
- Babatunde Elegbede (Governor 1978–1979)
- Clement Isong (Governor 1979–1983)
- Donald Etiebet (Governor 1983)
- Daniel Archibong (Governor 1984–1986)
- Eben Ibim Princewill (Governor 1986–1989)
- Ernest Atta (governor 1989–1992)
- Clement Ebri (Governor 1992–1993)
- Ibrahim Kefas (administrator 1993–1994)
- Gregory Agboneni (Administrator 1994–1996)
- Umar Farouk Ahmed (Administrator 1996–1998)
- Christopher Osondu (Administrator 1998–1999)
- Donald Duke (Governor 1999-2007)
- Liyel Imoke (Governor 2007-2015)
- Benedict Ayade (Governor 2015–)
administration
The state is divided into 17 Local Government Areas . These are: Abi, Akamkpa, Akpabuyo, Bekwarra, Biase, Boki, Calabar Municipal, Calabar South, Etung, Ikom, Obanliku, Obubra, Obudu, Odukpani, Ogoja, Yakurr and Yala. Bakassi was the 18th Local Government Area until 2006, then the area was ceded to Cameroon - see Bakassi Peninsula .
economy
The agriculture is the main industry in Cross River. It is divided into the state and private areas. While in the private sector mostly local farmers operate, the public sector is the large plantations of government controlled. There are cassava , yams , rice , bananas , corn , cocoa , rubber , groundnuts and coconuts grown.
Other industries are fishing and livestock farming . There are sheep , goats , poultry , pigs , rabbits and turkeys kept. On mineral resources are limestone , titanium , tin ore mined and ceramic raw materials.
traffic
Cross River's capital, Calabar, can be reached by air, sea, and road , while other parts of the state are only accessible by road. There is an international airport in Calabar .
literature
- Monday B. Abasiattai (Ed.): A history of the Cross River region of Nigeria. Calabar 1990.