Ini is located in the south 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 is a local government area of

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered 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 ...

. The location of the Ini Local Government Area covers the former Ikono Local Government Area and Abia State. It has a land area of 320,451 square kilometres.

People

The people of Ini Local Government area are members of the Ibibio people.

Ibibio Ibibio may refer to: * Ibibio language * Ibibio people * Ibibio Sound Machine, an English electronic afro-funk band who sing in Ibibio See also * Ibiblio ibiblio (formerly SunSITE.unc.edu and MetaLab.unc.edu) is a "collection of collections" ...

, Itu Mbon Uso/Nkari languages are spoken. As of 2006, the

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

is 99,196 in total with 52,644 male and 46,552 female residents. * Source
2006 National Census

Natural Resources

Natural resources found within Ini include

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, clay, gravel, fine sand, crude oil, gold and iron ore. The forest region provides

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

and firewood.

Commerce

Ini is known as the food basket of Akwa Ibom State. Due to Ini's land expansive area, the citizens are predominantly farmers. Ini produces food items such as rice, palm produce, cassava, cocoa, plantains, and bananas. There is potential for

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land (arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and en ...

and increased hunting.

Traditional Administration of Ini Local Government Area

The Ini Local Government is made up of Ikpe Clan, Ikono Clan, Iwerre Clan, Itu Mbon Uso Clan and Nkari Clan. Nkari, Itu Mbonu Uso and Iwerre Clan have ten gazetted and recognized villages each, while Ikpe Clan and

Ikono Ikono is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, located in the South South of Nigeria. It is bounded at the North by Ini Local Government Area, South by Abak and Uyo Local Government Areas, East by Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area and West b ...

Clan have 52 and 43 villages gazetted and officially recognized villages each. (Source: List of Recognized Villages and Clan, Akwa Ibom State Official Gazette, 2006). The local government area of Ini consists of ekpuks (lineages/macro-families) which make up autonomous, recognized and gazetted villages/communities. The communities/villages are grouped into one of the five clans of Ikono, Ikpe, Iwerri, Itu Mbon Uso and Nkari. The clans made up the local government. The Akwa Ibom State Traditional Rulers law, cap 134 laws of Akwa Ibom State and the gazettes published pursuant thereto clearly list all the recognized villages/communities and the grouped clans. The system of traditional administration in Ini Local Government Area is the same as other Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State that also follow the ancient Ibibio Political System, where the highest political system was the Community (Obio/Idung) which had an autonomous Obong Idung or Obong Obio or Obong Ikpaisong. Several communities with close blood affinity usually formed a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

and cooperation for the purposes of cultural and mutual cooperation in defense, commerce, and cultural championship. These inter-communal union of communities with blood relation is today recognized as a clan. The clans today have official clan heads who are selected by the recognized traditional rulers of the communities/villages from among themselves. The traditional rulers' law restricts the authority of every traditional ruler to his gazetted village/community and forbids interference of any traditional ruler in the administration of any other autonomous or gazetted village/community. The

paramount ruler {{Use American English, date=December 2018 The term paramount ruler, or sometimes paramount king, is a generic description, though occasionally also used as an actual title, for a number of rulers' position in relative terms, as the summit of a f ...

is the president of the Council of Traditional Rulers in the local government. He is selected by the Clan Heads from amongst themselves. Thus, a Traditional Ruler is firstly the King or Ruler of his recognized village/community, before he can vie to be elected to the office of the clan head and further vie to be elected as paramount ruler. Thus if a paramount ruler loses his

throne A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mona ...

as a traditional ruler of his Community/villages, he automatically ceases to be a clan head and thus ceases to be a paramount ruler. Royalty in Ini Local Government Area resides in the ancient royal thrones which are in each of the autonomous and gazetted villages/ communities. When a paramount ruler joins his ancestors, another clan head is elected to occupy the office of the Paramount Ruler from among the existing recognized clan heads after the burial of the deceased paramount ruler. The paramount ruler is, therefore, the first amongst equals in the royal thrones of Ini Local Government Area. The current Paramount Ruler of Ini Local Government Area is His Royal

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin ''maiestas'', meaning "greatness") is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the st ...

, Edidem Apostle Nteong Udo Effiong Akpan (Who is also the Clan Head of Itu Mbon Uso). The list of recognized Traditional Rulers of all the Communities/Villages and the Clans Heads are contained in the register kept at the State Ministry of Local Government and

Chieftaincy A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

Affairs.

References

{{Authority control Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State