Nafada is a
Local Government Area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...
(LGA) of
Gombe State
Gombe State ( ff, Leyddi Gommbe 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤠𞤺𞤮𞤥𞥆𞤦𞤫) is a state in northeastern Nigeria, bordered to the north and northeast by the state of Borno and Yobe, to the south by Taraba State, to the southeast by Adamawa State ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, NaìjÃrÃyà , yo, Nà ìjÃrÃà , pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. Its headquarter is in the town of Nafada in the east of the area at , on the
Gongola River
The Gongola River is in northeastern Nigeria, the principal tributary of the Benue River.
The upper course of the river as well as most of its tributaries are seasonal streams, but fill rapidly in August and September.
The Gongola rises on the east ...
which traverses the area.
According to the 2006 census, the LGA covers 1,586 square kilometers and has a population of 138,185 people. Nafada has ten wards namely: Nafada East, Nafada Central, Nafada West, Jigawa, Birnin Fulani East, Birnin Bolewa, Birnin Fulani West, Gudukku, Barwo/Nasarawo and Barwo Winde.
History
Nafada is located in the traditional lands of the
Bole people
Bole (''bòo pikkà '', also known as Bolanchi, Ampika, Borpika, Bolewa, Bolawa) is a West Chadic language spoken in Nigeria. Dialects include Bara and Fika, spoken in the Fika Emirate
The Fika Emirate is a traditional state with headquarte ...
. It was the capital of the
Gombe Emirate
The Gombe Emirate (Fula: Lamurde Gombe 𞤤𞤢𞤥𞤮𞤪𞤣𞤫 𞤺𞤮𞤥𞤥𞤦𞤫) is a traditional state in Nigeria that roughly corresponds in area to the modern Gombe State.
Gombe state also contains the emirates of Dukku, Deba, ...
from 1913 to 1919. The Gombe Emirate was moved to
Doma
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limiting the definition of marri ...
which was later renamed to Gombe.
Nafada is one of the eleven Local Government Areas of Gombe State, Nigeria. It has its administrative headquarters at the town of Nafada and it falls under Gombe North senatorial districts therefore constituting a federal constituency with
Dukku
Dukku is a Local Government Area in Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in Dukku town. The Gongola River flows through the west and north of the LGA. It has an area of 3,815 km and a population of 207,190 from the 2006 census. The vas ...
LGA.
Government
Since 2020, the local government chairman and deputy chairman are Musa Abubakar and Salisu Shuaibu Dandele respectively.
The
postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
of Nafada is 762.
Nafada LGA belongs to Gombe North Senatorial Zone/District along with
Dukku
Dukku is a Local Government Area in Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in Dukku town. The Gongola River flows through the west and north of the LGA. It has an area of 3,815 km and a population of 207,190 from the 2006 census. The vas ...
,
Funakaye
Funakaye is a Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Bajoga. Its current chairman is Alhaji Ibrahim Cheldu of the All Progressives Congress. Funakaye is bounded in the east by the Gongola River and L ...
,
Kwami
Kwami is a Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. It has its headquarters in the town of Mallam Sidi. Kwami is bordered in the east by Lake Dadin Kowa, in the north by funakaye and Gombe in the south. The postal code of the area is 760 ...
and Gombe LGA.
Nafada LGA belongs to Nafada/Dukku federal constituency that comprises the entire geographical areas of:
# Nafada Local Government Area
#
Dukku
Dukku is a Local Government Area in Gombe State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in Dukku town. The Gongola River flows through the west and north of the LGA. It has an area of 3,815 km and a population of 207,190 from the 2006 census. The vas ...
Local Government Area
Federal
Constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
in Nigeria are typically made up of a group of local government areas in a particular state and are represented by a member in the
Federal House of Representatives.
Geography
Nafada local government area encompasses a cumulative area of 1,586 square kilometres and it has an average temperature of 33 °C.
The
Gongola River flows through the LGA and the area has an average humidity level of 20 percent
The Nafada river originated from the River
Gongola rises on the Eastern slopes of the Jos-Plateau and falls to the Gongola basin running north-easterly until Nafada and then continued in the same direction to
Lake Chad
Lake Chad (french: Lac Tchad) is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Central Africa, which has varied in size over the centuries. According to the ''Global Resource Information Database'' of the United Nations Environment Programme, ...
. Presently, it turns south and the south-east until it joins the
Hawal River. The river then runs south to the
River Benue
The Benue River (french: la Bénoué), previously known as the Chadda River or Tchadda, is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months. The size of its bas ...
, joining it opposite the town of Numan. The upper course of the river as well as most of its tributaries are seasonal streams that rapidly fill up in August and September yearly. The lower reaches of the river are impounded by the
Dadin Kowa Dam
The Dadin Kowa Dam is situated in Yamaltu Deba local government area of Gombe State in the North east part of Nigeria.
The dam is located about 37 kilometers to the east of Gombe town and 5km froDadin kowavillage, and provides drinking water for ...
near Gombe and the Kiri Dam further below.
Kiri Dam
The Kiri Dam is in Kiri, Nigeria, Shelleng local government area of Adamawa State in the north east of Nigeria, damming the Gongola River.
It is a 1.2 km long, 20 m high zoned embankment with an internal clay blanket. The dam was mainly ...
is located at
Shelleng LGA of
Adamawa state in the north-east of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, NaìjÃrÃyà , yo, Nà ìjÃrÃà , pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
which was built to provide irrigation for the
Savannah Sugar Company.
Economy of Nafada
The Nafada LGA is home to several marketplaces, including the Donfa market, where a wide range of goods are bought and sold. In Nafada LGA, there are also a lot of mineral resources, such as limestone and gypsum. Farming, ceramics, handicrafts, the raising and sale of domestic animals, and farming are some other significant economic activity in Nafada LGA. Nafada has heavy deposit of
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
as one of its biggest mineral resources
. The Fika Shale in Nafada area is composed of thick laminated non-gypsiferous red clay, gypsum-rich blue-black shale and mudstone, grey coloured highly fissile shale and sandy clay with occasional cobbles and pebbles. This great resource is however under utilized, a sad reality that makes the local Government one amongst those with least infrastructure.
References
Local Government Areas in Gombe State
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