Brief History of Kwara State

History

Kwara State was formed out of the former northern region on 27th May 1967 by the then regime of General Yakubu Gowon. 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. It's capital is Ilorin.

Located in north western Nigeria, Kwara State occupies 36,825 square kilometres. In the 1976 state creation exercise, the Idah/Dekina portion of the state was excised to merge 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.

Kwara State is bounded in the north by Niger State, in the south by Oyo, Osun and Ekiti States, in the east by Kogi State and in the west by Benin Republic. Because of its unique geographical position, the State is referred to as the "gateway" between the north and the south of the country.