Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, and it shares boundaries on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny.

The state was created out of Cross River State on September 23, 1987, by the then Military Administration of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. No central government existed among the people of what is now Akwa Ibom State, prior to the British invasion in 1904.

History Of All States In Nigeria

Although several Scottish missionaries arrived in Calabar in 1848, and Ibono in 1887, the British did not firmly establish control of the area until 1904. In that year, the Enyong Division was created encompassing the area of the current state of Akwa Ibom, with headquarters at Ikot Ekpene, an Annang city described by the noted Africanist Kaanan Nair, as the cultural and political capital of Annang and Ibibio.

The creation of Enyong Division for the first time, allowed the numerous ethnic groups to come together. This further provided a venue for the creation of the Ibibio Welfare Union, later renamed Ibibio State Union. This social organization was first organized as a local development and improvement forum for educated persons and groups who were shut out from the colonial administration in 1929.

All Nigerian States And The State They Share Borders With

When Akwa Ibom state was created in 1987, Uyo was chosen as the state capital to spread development to all regions of the state, and it’s still the capital till date.