The Old Government Reserved Area (Old GRA) is a neighborhood of the city of

Port Harcourt Port Harcourt (Pidgin: ''Po-ta-kot or Pi-ta-kwa)'' is the capital and largest city of Rivers State in Nigeria. It is the fifth most populous city in Nigeria after Lagos, Kano, Ibadan and Benin. It lies along the Bonny River and is locate ...

Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. It was primarily inhabited by European settlers during

colonial times The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...

and was then referred to as the ''European quarters''. Old GRA is the location of the

Rivers State House of Assembly Rivers State House of Assembly is the legislative branch of the Government of Rivers State inaugurated in 1979. It is a unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one hous ...

, the People's Democratic Party Secretariat and the NEPAD Rivers State Secretariat. The neighborhood is also notable as the Port Harcourt home of Nigeria's previous first lady, Patience Jonathan.

Geography

As a mixed-use area, Old GRA combines residential, recreational and business uses. The neighborhood is bordered to the east by Abuloma, to the north by the D-line neighborhood, to the west by Diobu and Kidney Island and to the south by Borokiri. It comprises the land covered by the Zip code 500241.

Education

Schools

Elementary and secondary schools or other educational establishments operating within Old GRA's boundaries include: * Bereton Montessori Nursery and Primary School, 8 Ernest Ikoli Street * Faith Baptist College, 2 Rumuoparaeli Street * Sea Bed Model Primary School * Port Harcourt Primary School (PHPS) * Padod Model Primary School, 1 Eleme Street * Maple Education Inc, 20 Igbodo Street * Starlets Academy, 5 Yola Street

Landmarks

* Isaac Boro Park, public park established in the 1970s. Named after nationalist leader Isaac Boro.

Notable residents (past and present)

* Patience Jonathan (born 1957), former

First Lady of Nigeria The first lady of Nigeria is an informal, but accepted title, held by the wife of the president of Nigeria. The current First Lady, first lady is Oluremi Tinubu who has held the title since 29 May 2023. The Constitution of Nigeria does not creat ...

* Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs (born 1930), statesman and businessman.

References

External links

{{Port Harcourt neighbourhoods Old GRA Neighbourhoods in Port Harcourt European Nigerian culture in Rivers State