Niger is a state in the North Central region of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, 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 ...

and the largest

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at

Minna Minna is a city in Middle Belt Nigeria. It is the capital city of Niger State, one of Nigeria's 36 federal states. It consists of two major ethnic groups: the Gbagyi and the Nupe. History Archaeological evidence suggests settlement in th ...

. Other major

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

are

Bida Bida is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria and a city on the A124 highway which occupies most of the area. The LGA has an area of and a population of 188,181 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 912. The city Bida i ...

Kontagora Kontagora is a major town on the south bank of the Kontagora River in north-west Niger State, Nigeria. It is the capital city of the Kontagora Emirate. The current Niger state governor, Alh. Abubakar Sani Bello hails from Kontagora. On December 1 ...

and Suleja. It was formed in 1976 when the then

North-Western State North-Western State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region and existed until 3 February 1976, when it was divided into two states - Niger ) , official_languages = ...

was divided into Niger State and

Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Niger, Republic o ...

. It is home to

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as C ...

and

Abdulsalami Abubakar Abdulsalami Abubakar (; born 13 June 1942) is a Nigerian statesman and retired Nigerian Army general who served as the ''de facto'' President of Nigeria from 1998 to 1999. He was also Chief of Defence Staff between 1997 and 1998. He succeede ...

, two of Nigeria's former military rulers. The

Nupe Nupe may refer to: *Nupe people, of Nigeria *Nupe language, their language *The Bida Emirate, also known as the Nupe Kingdom, their former state *A member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African Amer ...

Gbagyi Gbagyi or Gbari (plural - Agbagyi/Agbari) is the name and the language of Gbagyi/Gbari ethnic group who are predominantly found in Central Nigeria, with a population of about 1 million people. Members of the ethnic group speak two dialects. While ...

, Kamuku,

Kambari The Kambari or Kamberi languages) are a cluster of Kainji languages spoken in northwestern Nigeria (Kebbi State and Niger State). Geographic distribution The Kambarri languages are spoken in Kebbi and Niger States, Nigeria. There are also some sp ...

, Gungawa, Hun-Saare,

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

and

Koro Koro may refer to: Geography *Koro Island, a Fijian island * Koro Sea, in the Pacific Ocean * Koro, Ivory Coast *Koro, Mali * Koro, Wisconsin, United States, an unincorporated community Languages *Koro language (India), an endangered language spo ...

form the majority of numerous indigenous tribes of Niger State. The state is named after the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

. Two of Nigeria's major hydroelectric power stations, the

Kainji Dam Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. Construction of the dam was carried out by Impregilo (a consortium of Italian Civil Engineering Contractors) to designs by Joint Consultants, Balfour Beatty and Nedeco, ...

and Shiroro Dam, are located in Niger State, along with the new Zungeru Dam. The

Jebba Dam Shiroro is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Kuta. It has an area of and a population of 235,404 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 921. Shiroro has fifteen 5wards as follows: # ...

straddles the border of Niger state and Kwara state. The famous Gurara Falls is in Niger State, and Gurara Local Government Area is named after the Gurara River, on whose course the fall is situated. Also situated there is

Kainji National Park Kainji National Park is a national park in Niger State and Kwara State, Nigeria. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about . The park includes three distinct sectors: a part of the Kainji Lake in which fishing is restricted, the Borgu G ...

, the largest National Park of Nigeria, which contains

Kainji Lake Kainji Lake, in North Central Nigeria, is a reservoir on the Niger River, formed by the Kainji Dam. It was formed in 1968 and is a part of Niger State and Kebbi State. Kainji Lake National Park (KNLP), situated around the lake, is Nigeria's oldes ...

, the

Borgu Game Reserve The Borgu Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State and Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. It is bordered on the east by Kainji Lake and reaches almost to the bor ...

and the

Zugurma Game Reserve The Zugurma Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. It is bordered by the Kontagora River to the northwest and the Manyara River to the north, and covers an area of 138,50 ...

Government

Like the majority of Nigerian states, it is governed by a

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and a state House of Assembly. Under the current administration of

Abubakar Sani Bello Abubakar Sani Bello also known as ''Lolo,'' is a Nigerian politician and the current executive Governor of Niger State, Nigeria. He is a member of All Progressive Congress (APC) Background Abubakar Sani Bello was Born on 17 December 1967. He ...

. The state has 25 local government each headed by local government chairman which are also divided into districts, each again with its district head while Villages are headed by village head throughout the state.

Local Government Areas

Education

Tertiary educational institutions in Niger state include: *

Federal Polytechnic, Bida Federal Polytechnic, Bida is a polytechnic school based in Niger State, in north central Nigeria. It opened in 1977. History Federal Polytechnic Bida was established 1977 following a decision of the Federal Government Nigeria to move the ins ...

Federal University of Technology Minna Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA) is a Federal Government owned University located in Minna, Nigeria. FUT MINNA specializes in technological education. Offering Bachelor's of Technology, Master's of Technology in various technolog ...

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBUL) is a university in Niger State, central Nigeria. It had its first convocation in 2014. It was named after the former Nigeria Head of State General Ibrahim Babangida. The university started academic a ...

Lapai Lapai is a Local Government Area in Niger State, Nigeria, adjoining the Federal Capital Territory. Its headquarters are in the town of Lapai on the A124 highway in the west of the area at . It has an area of 3,051 km and a population of 11 ...

Niger State Polytechnic Niger State Polytechnic, also known as Nigerpoly, is a tertiary learning institution in Zungeru, Niger State, Nigeria. History and mission The institution started as Zungeru College of Advanced Studies (ZUCAS). The state government establishe ...

Zungeru Zungeru is a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It was the capital of the British protectorate of Northern Nigeria from 1902 until 1916. It is the site of the Niger State Polytechnic and is located on the Kaduna River. History Colonial history Acc ...

Languages

Languages of Niger State listed by LGA:

Climate

There is very warm climate with a yearly average of 34 degrees, but has few truly tropical and sultry months. It is yearlong warm or hot. Dued to the lesser rain the best time for traveling is from November to April. Sometimes humidity is unfriendlyly high from June to September. The most rainy days occur from the month of May to October. January is the sunniest month in the state of Niger. In August the sun shines the shortest. September offers the most number of rainy days, and in December the least.

Gallery

File:State secretariat Minna DJI 0957.jpg, Niger state secretariat File:Mobil Roundabout Minna.jpg, Mobil Junction File:Drone shot of Bahago roundabout Minna.jpg, Bahago Roundabout File:St. Michaels Catholic Church Minna.jpg, St. Michael Catholic Cathedral Minna File:City gate 6 Minna DJI 0944.jpg, Welcome to Minna File:Inland valley rice production near Bida, Niger State, Nigeria - panoramio (1).jpg, An Inland valley rice production near Bida, Niger State

References

External links

Official portal

News on Niger State
{{Portal bar, Nigeria States of Nigeria States and territories established in 1976