About

Edo State is in the South-South geopolitical zone of southern Nigeria, created in 1991 from the former Bendel State. It is bordered by Kogi State to the north-east, Anambra to the east, Delta to the south-east and Ondo to the west, with Benin City as its capital. The region was the seat of the historic Benin Kingdom, whose renowned earthworks and bronze art date back centuries; a British punitive expedition in 1897 destroyed much of the ancient city and brought the territory into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate. Edo's economy combines agriculture, manufacturing and a strong endowment of natural resources. It is a centre of Nigeria's rubber industry and also produces oil palm, cocoa and timber, with oil and gas, solid minerals and agro-processing offering further opportunities. Public finance and development priorities focus on infrastructure, industrialisation, human capital, and the strengthening of internally generated revenue and investment attraction.