Enugu State history and capital, Enugu State Local Government Areas and Senatorial Zones/ Districts in Enugu State. The post also has Local Government Area that make each Enugu State Senatorial Districts.

Enugu State is one of the thirty-six States constituting the Nigerian Federation. It came into being on August 27, 1991 when the administration of President Ibrahim Babangida finally acquiesced to the long agitations of Waawa people for a State they could truly call their own. Enugu State derives its name from the capital city, ENUGU (top of the hill) which is regarded as the oldest urban area in the Igbo speaking area of Southeast Nigeria.

Enugu State is an inland state in southeastern Nigeria. Its capital is Enugu where the state derives its name.

It shares boundaries with Anambra on the West, Abia State on the South, Kogi on the North while Benue and Eboyin on the East. Enugu and Nsukka are its major towns. Enugu was the headquarters of the former East Central State and Eastern Nigeria.

Read: Nigerian History

The state is predominantly agricultural with yam tubers, palm produce and rice being their main produce. There is in place an agricultural policy aimed at maximizing its agricultural potentials.

Besides coal, new mineral deposits have recently been discovered in Enugu State. These include limestone, iron ore, crude oil, natural gas and bauxite.

The Europeans commissioned Albert Ernest Kitson to lead an exploration in 1903 to find mineral resources in the area. In 1909 Coal was discovered in Enugu at the Udi Hills and this led to the construction of the Eastern Railway to transport coal to the port at Port Harcourt

Enugu was then developed by the Europeans to become one of the few West African cities with a European touch. Enugu was declared the capital of the Eastern Region after Nigeria’s independence in 1960 having previously served as the administrative capital of the same region from 1938 till independence.

The city also served as the “capital of Igboland” known as the Republic of Biafra in 1967. The Biafran capital was moved to Umuahia after the Nigerian Armed forces captured Enugu. In 1991, the old Anambra state was divided into two to create Enugu and Anambra State. Enugu remained the capital of the new Enugu State created by Ibrahim Babangida’s military regime.

the name of the state derives from its capital city, Enugu. The word “Enugu” (from Enu Ugwu) means “the top of the hill”. The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer named Albert Kitson. In his quest for silver, he discovered coal in the Udi Ridge. The Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took a keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain. As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system. Enugu acquired township status in 1917 and became strategic to British interests. Foreign businesses began to move into Enugu, the most notable of which were John Holt, Kingsway Stores, the British Bank of West Africa and the United Africa Company.

From Enugu the British administration was able to spread its influence over the Southern Province of Nigeria. The colonial past of Enugu is today evidenced by the Georgian building types and meandering narrow roads within the residential area originally reserved for the whites, an area which is today called the Government Reserved Area (GRA).

From being the capital of the Southern Provinces, Enugu became the capital of the Eastern Region (now divided into nine States), the capital of now defunct Federal Republic of Biafra, thereafter, the capital of East Central State, Anambra State, (old) Enugu State, and now the capital of the present Enugu State through a process of state creation and diffusion of administrative authority

he name of the state derives from its capital city, Enugu. The word “Enugu” (from Enu Ugwu) means “the top of the hill”. The first European settlers arrived in the area in 1909, led by a British mining engineer named Albert Kitson. In his quest for silver, he discovered coal in the Udi Ridge. The Colonial Governor of Nigeria Frederick Lugard took a keen interest in the discovery, and by 1914 the first shipment of coal was made to Britain. As mining activities increased in the area, a permanent cosmopolitan settlement emerged, supported by a railway system. Enugu acquired township status in 1917 and became strategic to British interests. Foreign businesses began to move into Enugu, the most notable of which were John Holt, Kingsway Stores, the British Bank of West Africa and the United Africa Company.

Read: Nigerian States and Capitals

Economically, the state is predominantly rural and agrarian, with a substantial proportion of its working population engaged in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are also important. In the urban areas trading is the dominant occupation, followed by services. A small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities, with the most pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka. The state boasts of a number of markets especially at each of the divisional headquarters, prominent of which is the Ogbete Main market in the State capital, Enugu. There is also one of the largest grains market East of the Niger, the Orie Orba Market which plays host to most farmers from the North Central States of Benue, Kogi, Nassarawa and Plateau who use the market to dispose their produce for consumers in South-East and South-Southern Nigeria . Every four days, grains and other farm produce are found in large quantities and at highly competitive prices

Electricity supply is relatively stable in Enugu and its Environs. The Oji River Power Station (which used to supply electricity to all of Eastern Nigeria) is located in Enugu State. With the deregulation of electricity generation in Nigeria, and the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), it is hoped the State Government would assist private investors to negotiate the take over and reactivation of the Oji Power Station. This is more so with the proximity of the Enugu coal mines to the power station, a driving distance of about 20 minutes. There are also traces of crude oil in Ugwuoba, in the same Oji-River Local Government area of the state. The state will also negotiate with investors interested in investing in the coal mining in Enugu. The coal industry used to be one of the biggest employer of labour in the state and the state is looking to attract investors in the industry

Enugu State Senatorial Zones / Districts

Enugu state have three (3) Senatorial Zones / Districts. They are Enugu North Senatorial Zone / District, Enugu East Senatorial Zone / District and Enugu West Senatorial Zone / District. Below are the Senatorial Zones / Districts and the local government areas that made up the districts.

Ebugu North Senatorial Zone / District

Igbo Eze South Local Government Area
Nsukka Local Government Area
Igbo Etiti Local Government Area
Igbo Eze North Local Government Area
Udenu Local Government Area
Uzo-uwani Local Government Area

Enugu East Senatorial Zone / District

Enugu East Local Government Area
Enugu North Local Government Area
Enugu South Local Government Area
Isi Uzo Local Government Area
Nkanu East Local Government Area
Nkanu West Local Government Area

Enugu West Senatorial Zone / District

Aninri Local Government Area
Awgu Local Government Area
Ezeagu Local Government Area
Oji-river Local Government Area
Udi Local Government Area

Local Government Areas in Enugu State

Enugu State has seventeen (17) Local Government Areas as named below:

Aninri

Awgu

Enugu East

Enugu North

Enugu South

Ezeagu

Igbo Etiti

Igbo Eze North

Igbo Eze South

Isi Uzo

Nkanu East

Nkanu West

Nsukka

Oji River

Udenu

Udi

Uzo-Uwani