Ogoja 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 ...

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

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 ...

. Its headquarters is Ogoja town in the northeast of the area near the A4 highway at. It has an area of 972 km² and a population of 171,901 at the 2006 census. Its St. Benedict’s Cathedral is the episcopal see of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ogoja The Diocese of Ogoja ( la, Ogogiaën(sis)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Nigeria. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan R ...

. 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 the area is 550.

History

The town was one of the provinces during pre-colonial times. It consists of many tribal units, including Ishibori (this village has different clans such as Uhmuria, Ikaptang, Ikajor, Ishinyema, Ikariku, Imerakorm) and Igoli as the central town. Mbube, being one of the major tribes, comprises different villages, including: Odajie, Adagum, Ekumtak, Idum, Ojerim, Egbe, Ogberia Ogang & Ogberia Ochoro, Oboso, Benkpe, Edide, Bansan, Aragban, Nkim, etc. Their major source of livelihood is

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

, basically farming of cassava, yams,

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

, palm wine etc.

Ekajuk The Kajuk language, ''Ekajuk'' (also spelled ''Akajo'' and ''Akajuk''), is an Ekoid language (of the Niger–Congo family) spoken in the Cross River State and some surrounding regions of Nigeria. The Ekajuk are one of several peoples who use t ...

, is one of the major clan in Ogoja Local government area. Divided into Ward I and Ward II, and includes major communities such as Nwang, Ekpogrinya, Esham, Egbong, Nnang, Ewinimba and Bansara (which are collection of a group of villages.)

Present administration

Currently, Ogoja has three arms of government, namely: executive, legislature and judiciary. The executive arm is made up of an elected Chairman, a deputy chairman and supervisors. They are appointed by the chairman and confirmed by the legislature. The previous chairman was Madam Rita Atom from 2013 to 2016. An election has not be conducted, while the Vice Chairman is Mr. John Orim still remains on seat. The legislative arm comprises ten Councillors who represent the ten wards in Ogoja. The leader of the legislature is Mr Austin Ayungbe - Ekajuk ward II, while the deputy leader is Mr Thomas Ori - Mbube east ward II. Others are; Ms Sarah Amu - Mbube east ward I, Mr Tom Egbang - Mbube west ward I, Mr Peter Odu - Mbube west ward II, Mr Vincent Uga - Nkum-Irede ward, Mr Iyang Nnang - Nkum-Iborr ward, Mr Paul Aganyi - Ekajuk ward I, Mr Anthony Ntaji - Urban ward I, Mr Wogor Umari - Urban ward II. All the officials in the executive and legislative arms are members of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP). Their tenure expires in December 2016. The judiciary is headed by the Chief Judge of Ogoja. Ogoja is a town of many reputable families such as:The MOKOSHE’s The Egabe's ,The Ogabi's,The Aggrey's, The Ntaji’s, The Ogabo's, The Ukpo's, The Uga-ifu's, The Amu's. Ogoja is home to the Federal College of Science.

Transportation

Bebi Airport, a small airstrip, is close to Ogoja.

References

{{Cross River State Local Government Areas in Cross River State