Ekiti State
| Ekiti | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | |||
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| Nickname(s): Land of Honour formerly Fountain of Knowledge | |||
 Location of Ekiti State in Nigeria |
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| Coordinates: 7°40′N 5°15′E / 7.667°N 5.250°ECoordinates: 7°40′N 5°15′E / 7.667°N 5.250°E | |||
| Country |
 Nigeria
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| Date created | 1 October 1996 | ||
| Capital | Ado Ekiti | ||
| Government | |||
| • Governor (List) |
Ayo Fayose (PDP) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 6,353 km2 (2,453 sq mi) | ||
| Area rank | 31st of 36 | ||
| Population | |||
| • Estimate (2005) | 2,737,186 | ||
| • Rank | 29th of 36 | ||
| Demonym(s) | Ekitian | ||
| GDP (PPP) | |||
| • Year | 2007 | ||
| • Total | $2.85 billion | ||
| • Per capita | $1,169 | ||
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+01) | ||
| ISO 3166 code | NG-EK | ||
Ekiti is a state in western Nigeria, declared a state on 1 October 1996 alongside five others by the military under the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. The state, carved out of the territory of old Ondo State, covers the former twelve local government areas that made up the Ekiti Zone of old Ondo State. On creation, it had sixteen Local Government Areas (LGAs), having had an additional four carved out of the old ones. Ekiti State is one of the thirty-six states (Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria)) that constitute Nigeria. Ekiti State is reputed to have produced the highest number of professors in Nigeria. Several pioneer academics are from the state, including Adegoke Olubummo (One of the first Nigerian professors in the field of mathematics), Ekundayo Adeyinka Adeyemi (1st Professor of Architecture in Africa, South of Sahara). Others include Profs J.F. Ade-Ajayi, Niyi Osundare, Sam Aluko, Prof A.A. Agboola.
Following a prolonged political crisis, President Olusegun Obasanjo imposed a military administrator (General Tunji Olurin) on Ekiti State in October 2006. On April 27, 2007 Olurin was replaced by Tope Ademiluyi. In the PDP primary of 2006, 1st-place finisher, Yinka Akerele and 2nd place Prof. Adesegun Ojo were supposed to be in a run-off to determine who would be the nominee of the Nigerian ruling party when President Obasanjo summoned them to Abuja and imposed the candidate who came third - Engineer Segun Oni. He was later elected in the 2007 election as the governor of the state in an election marred by widespread irregularities and the AC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi challenged his election and forced a rerun in May 2009.
The May 2009 rerun was characterized by even worse rigging and the election was disputed again. Eventually, after three years, the election of Oni was thrown out and Dr. Kayode Fayemi was declared the duly elected governor of Ekiti State.
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Wikipedia