Ekiti State of Nigeria - Location And Boundaries

Ekiti State is situated entirely within the tropics (see maps ). It is located between longitudes 4⁰ 5¹ and 5⁰ 45¹ East of the Greenwish meridian and latitudes 7⁰ 15¹ and 8⁰ 5¹ north of the Equator. It lies south of Kwara and Kogi State, East of Osun State and bounded by Ondo State in the East and in the south. Ekiti State has 16 Local Government Councils. By 1991 Census, the population of Ekiti State was 1,647,822 while the estimated population upon its creation on October 1^st 1996 was put at 1,750,000 with the capital located at Ado-Ekiti.

Mainly an upland zone rising over 250 metres above sea level, Ekiti has a rhythmically undulating surface. The landscape consists of ancient plains broken by steep-sided outcropping dome rocks. These rocks may occur singularly or in groups or ridges and the most notable of these are to be found in Efon-Alaaye, Ikere-Ekiti and Okemesi-Ekiti.

Climate And Vegetation

The State enjoys a tropical climate with two distinct seasons. These are the rainy season (April - October) and the dry season (November - March). Temperature ranges between 21⁰ and 28⁰C with high humidity. The south - westerly winds and the North East Trade winds blow in the raining and dry (Harmattan) seasons respectively. Tropical Forest exists in the south, while guinea savanna predominates in the northern peripheries.

Brief Overview

An important feature of the state is the large number of hills it possesses, which are often the site of towns in which much of the population resides. In fact, the word 'Ekiti' was derived from the local term for hill.

The Ekiti is a sub-group of the Yoruba , and indeed their ancestors migrated from Ile-Ife, the spiritual home of all Yoruba . The local dialect is spoken with slight variations in the different communities, but this does not prevent Ekiti indigenes from understanding each other. Christianity, Islam and traditional religions are all practiced.

Politics here can offer surprises, with voters not always following their relatives at the polls. This, given the Ekiti sense that they must struggle for recognition within the Yoruba camp, is perhaps not surprising. In the Second Republic the Ekiti favoured the party of the South-West, the UPN. The Third Republic saw them stray somewhat, giving three seats to the NRC.

In the Fourth Republic, now more secure perhaps with their own state, the electorate returned to the fold, as it were, embracing the AD to the turn of two out of three Senate seats, all six House seats, the governorship and 22 out of 26 state assembly jurisdictions. The PDP managed a senator and three state assembly seats, while the APP had to settle for a lone representative.