Editing Akwa Ibom State (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Use Nigerian English|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name               = Akwa Ibom
| official_name      = 
| type               = [[States of Nigeria|State]]
| image_skyline      = 
| image_alt          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = Flag of Akwa Ibom State.svg
| flag_alt           = Flag of Akwa Ibom
| image_seal         = The Emblem of Akwa Ibom State.jpg
| seal_alt           = Seal of Akwa Ibom
| nickname           = [[List of Nigerian state nicknames|Land of Promise, Akwa Abasi Ibom state]]
| image_map          = Nigeria - Akwa Ibom.svg
| map_alt            = 
| map_caption        = Location of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria
| coordinates        = {{coord|05|00|N|07|50|E|region:NG_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| coor_pinpoint      = 
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Nigeria}}
| established_title  = [[List of Nigerian states by date of statehood|Date created]]
| established_date   = 23 September 1987
| seat_type          = [[List of Nigerian state capitals|Capital]]
| seat               = [[Uyo]]
| government_footnotes = 
| governing_body     = [[Government of Akwa Ibom State]]
| leader_party       = [[People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)|PDP]]
| leader_title       = [[Governor of Akwa Ibom State|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Pastor Umo Eno]]
| leader_title1      = {{nowrap|Deputy Governor}}
| leader_name1       = [[Akon Eyakenyi]]
| leader_title2      = Legislature
| leader_name2       = [[Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly]]
| leader_title3      = [[Senate of Nigeria|Senators]]
| leader_name3       = {{Nowrap|[[Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District|NE]]: [[Aniekan Bassey]] ([[People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)|PDP]])}}<br>{{Nowrap|[[Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District|NW]]: [[Godswill Akpabio]] ([[All Progressives Congress (Nigeria)|APC]])}}<br>{{Nowrap|[[Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District|S]]: Ekong Sampson ([[Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria)|PDP]])}}
| leader_title4      = [[Nigerian House of Representatives|Representatives]]
| leader_name4       = [[Nigerian National Assembly delegation from Akwa Ibom#9th Parliament (2019 - )|List]]
| unit_pref          = Metric<!-- or US or UK -->
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 7081
| area_rank          = [[List of Nigerian states by area|30 of 36]]
| area_note          = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://akwaibomstate.gov.ng/page-page-akwa-ibom-state-history.html |title=Akwa Ibom State History |access-date=2016-12-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221152617/https://akwaibomstate.gov.ng/page-page-akwa-ibom-state-history.html |archive-date=2016-12-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| population_total   = 5,450,758
| population_as_of   = 2016
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| population_rank    = [[List of Nigerian states by population|15 of 36]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_note    = 
| population_demonym = Akwa Ibomite
| demographics_type1 = [[List of Nigerian states by GDP|GDP (PPP)]]
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = Year
| demographics1_info1 = 2021
| demographics1_title2 = Total
| demographics1_info2 = $50.30&nbsp;billion<ref name="C-GIDD GDP">{{cite web |date=2022-10-13 |editor-last=Okeowo |editor-first=Gabriel |editor2-last=Fatoba |editor2-first=Iyanuoluwa |title=State of States 2022 Edition |url=https://yourbudgit.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/2022-State-of-states_Official.pdf |access-date=2023-03-07 |website=Budgit.org |publisher=BudgIT |publication-date=2022-10-13}}</ref><br />[[List of Nigerian states by GDP|3rd of 36]]
| demographics1_title3 = Per capita
| demographics1_info3 = $7,739<ref name="C-GIDD GDP" /><br />[[List of Nigerian states by GDP|4th of 36]]
| timezone1          = [[West Africa Time|WAT]]
| utc_offset1        = +01
| postal_code        = 520211, 520212, 520221, 520222, 520231, 520232, 520241, 520251, 520261, 520271
| area_code          = +234
| area_code_type     = Dialing Code
| iso_code           = [[ISO 3166-2:NG|NG-AK]]
| blank_name_sec1    = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2022)
| blank_info_sec1    = 0.602<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{Cite web|url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|title=Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=2018-09-13}}</ref><br/>{{color|#fc0|medium}} · [[List of Nigerian states by Human Development Index|16th of 37]]
| website            = {{URL|http://akwaibomstate.gov.ng/}}
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Akwa Ibom''' is a [[States of Nigeria|state]] in the [[South South|South-South geopolitical zone]] of [[Nigeria]]. It borders [[Cross River State]] to the east, [[Rivers State]] and [[Abia State]] to the west and north-west, and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] to the south. The state takes its name from the [[Qua Iboe River]] which bisects the state before flowing into the [[Bight of Bonny]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Onyeakagbu |first1=Adaobi |title=See how all the 36 Nigerian states got their names |url=https://www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/food-travel/see-how-all-the-36-nigerian-states-got-their-names/g8bkn2c |website=Pulse.ng |date=5 October 2021 |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref> Akwa Ibom was split from [[Cross River State]] in 1987.  The state has 31 [[Local government areas of Nigeria|local government areas]], and its capital is Uyo.

Of the [[States of Nigeria|36 states]], Akwa Ibom is the [[List of Nigerian states by area|30th largest in area]] and [[List of Nigerian states by population|fifteenth most populous]], with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Population 2006-2016 |url=https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/474 |website=[[National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria|National Bureau of Statistics]] |access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref> Geographically, the state is divided between the [[Central African mangroves]] in the coastal far south and the [[Cross–Niger transition forests]] in the rest of the state. Other important geographical features are the [[Imo River|Imo]] and [[Cross River (Nigeria)|Cross]] rivers which flow along Akwa Ibom's eastern and western borders respectively while the [[Kwa Ibo River]] bisects the state before flowing into the [[Bight of Bonny]]. In the southeast corner of the state is the ''[[Stubb Creek Forest Reserve]]'', a heavily threatened wildlife reserve that contains declining [[crocodile]], [[putty-nosed monkey]], [[red-capped mangabey]], and [[Sclater's guenon]] populations along with potentially extirpated populations of [[African leopard]] and [[Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Inemesit |first1=Akpan-Nsoh |title='Akwa Ibom primates on brink of extinction' |url=https://guardian.ng/property/akwa-ibom-primates-on-brink-of-extinction/ |website=[[The Guardian (Nigeria)|The Guardian]] |date=14 May 2018 |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eniang |first1=Edem A. |last2=Akani |first2=Godfrey C. |last3=Amadi |first3=Nioking |last4=Dendi |first4=Daniele |last5=Amori |first5=Giovanni |last6=Luiselli |first6=Luca |title=Recent distribution data and conservation status of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Niger Delta (Nigeria) |journal= Tropical Zoology|date=15 Jul 2016 |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=173–183 |doi=10.1080/03946975.2016.1214461 |bibcode=2016TrZoo..29..173E |s2cid=89244146 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03946975.2016.1214461 |access-date=17 December 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baker |first1=Lynne R. |title=Report on a Survey of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, June 20 – July 5, 2003 |url=https://global.wcs.org/Resources/Publications/Publications-Search-II/ctl/view/mid/13340/pubid/DMX1235600000.aspx |website=[[Wildlife Conservation Society|WCS]] |date=27 April 2012 |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogar |first1=Dave A. |last2=Asuk |first2=Sijeh A. |last3=Umanah |first3=I.E. |title=Forest Cover Change in Stubb's Creek Forest Reserve Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria |journal=Applied Tropical Agriculture |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=183–189|year= 2016 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321497316 |access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref> Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations alongside various [[Cetacea|cetacean species]], including [[bottlenose dolphin]]s, [[pantropical spotted dolphin]]s, [[humpback whale]]s, and [[killer whale]]s.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home : Biodiversity Preservation Center, Uyo, Akwa Ibom |url=https://biodiversitypreservationcenter.org/ |access-date=July 5, 2024 |website=Home : Biodiversity Preservation Center, Uyo, Akwa Ibom}}</ref>

Modern-day Akwa Ibom State has been inhabited by various ethnic groups for hundreds of years, primarily the closely related [[Ibibio people|Ibibio]], [[Annang people|Annang]], and [[Oron people|Oron]] peoples in the [[Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District|North-East]], [[Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District|North-West]], and [[Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District|Southern]] zones of the state, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Akwa Ibom tribes – Soluap |url=https://soluap.com/akwa-ibom-tribes/#:~:text=Akwa%20Ibom%20has%20a%20vibrant%20culture%20and%20celebrates,the%20Leboku%20Festival,%20and%20the%20Christmas%20Carols%20Festival. |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=soluap.com}}</ref>

Economically, Akwa Ibom State is based around the production of [[crude oil]] and [[natural gas]] as highest oil-producing state in the country.<ref name="thisdaylive.com">{{cite web |last1=Akanbi |first1=Festus |title=As Anambra, Kogi Join Oil-producing States |url=https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/09/19/as-anambra-kogi-join-oil-producing-states/ |website=[[ThisDay]] |date=19 September 2021 |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> Key minor industries involve agriculture as the state has substantial [[cocoyam]], [[Yam (vegetable)|yam]], and [[Cooking banana|plantain]] crops along with fishing and [[heliciculture]]. Despite its vast oil revenues, Akwa Ibom has the [[List of Nigerian states by Human Development Index#2019|seventeenth highest]] [[Human Development Index]] in the country in large part due to years of systemic corruption.<ref name="Human Development Indices">{{cite web |title=Human Development Indices |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/ |website=Global Data Lab |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="The Gang of 43 breaks cover">{{cite web |title=The Gang of 43 breaks cover |url=https://www.africa-confidential.com/article/id/12703/The_Gang_of_43_breaks_cover |website=[[Africa Confidential]] |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Everyone's in on the Game">{{cite journal |title="Everyone's in on the Game" |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/08/17/everyones-game/corruption-and-human-rights-abuses-nigeria-police-force |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=17 August 2010 |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref>