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Kwara State State nickname: State of Harmony
Location
Statistics
Governor (List)	Bukola Saraki (PDP)
Date Created	27 May 1967
Capital	Ilorin
Area	36,825 km² Ranked 9th
Population 1991 Census 2005 estimate	Ranked 31st 1,566,469 2,591,555
ISO 3166-2	NG-KW

Kwara State is one of the 12 states of Nigeria.

Contents 1 History 2 Local Governments 3 Culture and Festivals 4 Tourism 5 Transport and Communications 6 Agriculture 7 Education 8 Sports 9 External links

Kwara State was created on 27th May 1967 when the Federal Military Government of General Yakubu Gowon broke the four regions that then constituted the Federation of Nigeria into 12 states. At its creation, the state was made up of the former Ilorin and Kabba provinces of the then Northern Region and was initially named the West Central State but later changed to “Kwara”, a local name for the River Niger. The capital of the State is Ilorin, which lies 306km northeast of Lagos and 500km southwest of Abuja.

Kwara State has since 1976 reduced considerably in size as a result of further state creation exercises in Nigeria. On February 13, 1976, the Idah/Dekina part of the state was carved out and merged with a part of the then Benue/Plateau State to form Benue State.

On August 27, 1991, five local government areas, namely Oyi, Yagba, Okene, Okehi and Kogi were also excised to form part of a new state called Kogi, while a sixth, Borgu Local Government Area, was merged with Niger State.

Toyin's people are from here.

There are sixteen Local Government Areas in the State. They are:

• Asa
• Baruten
• Edu
• Ekiti
• Ifelodun
• Ilorin-East
• Ilorin-South
• Ilorin-West
• Irepodun
• Isin
• Kaiama
• Moro
• Offa
• Oke-Ero
• Oyun
• Patigi

The culture of the State is as diverse as the people themselves.in general, the use of yoruba language is popular in the states .

Kwara State is generally acknowledged as the heart of tourism in Nigeria because of the variety, quality and potentials of its tourist attractions. These attractions include natural land features, fascinating sceneries, historic monuments and relics. Others include a galaxy of cultural festivals, comfortable tourists accommodation facilities and a warm and hospitable population. Important tourist attractions in Kwara State include Esie Museum, Owu Falls, Imoleboja Rock Shelter, Ogunjokoro, Kanji Lake National Parks among other attractions. There are many hotels in Kwara State chief of which, is the Kwara Hotel located in the heart of Ilorin and separate from area of business activities. Other hotels include Satellite Hotel, Bekandims, Yebumot Hotel, Circular Hotel and host of others as shown in the list of hotels.

Kwara State is well linked by a good network of roads with five states. The Nigerian Railway Corporation extends services from Lagos through the state to the Northern part of the country. The Ilorin Airport is a major center both for domestic and international (Hajj) flights and as now been built up into a hub for transportation of cargoes. Good telecommunications services also link the state with other parts of the country.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and the principal cash crops are cotton, cocoa, coffee, kolanuts, tobacco leaves, beniseed and palm produce. Agricultural institutes located in the State are the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute, (ARMTI). National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization and Niger River Basin Development Authority, all located in Ilorin. The Agricultural Research Project of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife at Balla provides farmers with vital information on modern agricultural techniques. The Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Agricultural Development Project (ADP) provide both the infrastructural and storage facilities. Among these are seed multiplication, model farms, land development and inputs distribution. All these have helped to improve and boost agricultural production and services in the state. The cashew processing plant at Ogbondoroko is another step in the right direction by kwara state government.

Education is a major industry in Kwara State. It has been a joint venture between Government, various communities and religious organizations. Details on Education in Kwara State.The state is one of the states with the highest number of academic institutions in Nigeria having two universities, two polytechnics, three colleges of education and many secondary schools

Sporting activities has taken deep roots in the State through the activities and efforts of the State Sports Council. The importance attached to sports led to the construction of a stadium complex. The facilities available at the stadium complex are mainbowl, indoor sports hall, hostel, recreational press center as well as an Olympic size swimming pool.

• Kwara State Government Homepage

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