Okene is a town in the Nigerian state of Kogi. The town is based in a Local Government Area of the same name. Okene runs along the A2 highway. It had an area of 328 km² and a population of 320,260 at the 2006 census. The predominant people in Okene are the Ebira of central Nigeria and the

Ebira language Ebira (pronounced as /eh 'bi ra/; with the Central known as Okene It is spoken by around 2 million people in middle belt Nigeria. It is the most divergent language. Geographic distribution The majority of speakers are in Kogi State in the Centra ...

is spoken. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...

of the area is 264.

People

Okene is the birthplace of

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

player and

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

prospect

Akim Aliu Akim Olumide Aliu (born April 24, 1989) is a Nigerian-born Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey player currently an unrestricted free agent. Aliu was a second-round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, 56th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry ...

. Another prominent Nigerian hailing from Okene is Engineer Joseph Makoju, the former managing director of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and currently the Honorary Adviser to Mr President on Electric Power and the Honorary Adviser to the President/CEO

Dangote Group The Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate, founded by Aliko Dangote. It is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. The group employs more than 30,000 people, generat ...

on Strategies. Okene is the birthplace of Governor

Yahaya Bello Yahaya Adoza Bello (; born 18 June 1975) is a Nigerian businessman, politician. He served as the governor of Kogi State from 2016 to 2024. A member of the All Progressives Congress, Bello was the youngest governor in Nigeria throughout his term ...

and Governor-elect of Kogi State

Ahmed Usman Ododo Ahmed Usman Ododo (born 7 February 1982) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who has served as the governor of Kogi State since 2024. He is a member of the All Progressives Congress. Before he was elected governor of Kogi state, he served ...

. Popular actress and entrepreneur Mercy Johnson also comes from Okene.

Education

The Federal College of Education is situated in Okene along Okene-Lokoja road. There is also a satellite campus of the Kogi State Polythecnic. There are several schools in the town, including high schools such as Abdulaziz Atta Memorial College Okene (AAMCO), Local Government Secondary School Ohiana (LGSS), College of Arabic and Islamic Studies Okene (CAISO), Solardad Group of Schools, located close to G.R.A Okene, Samaritan Nursery And Primary School, located at Ozuwaya beside Kekere Guest Palace Okene, and many other notable schools.

History

Okene Local Government Area was created in 1976 from the then Ebira Division by the Administration of General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

, following the 1976 Local Government Reform. Ajaokuta and Ogori-Magongo LGAs were created from the old Okene LGA in 1991 and 1996 respectively. The people of Okene Local Government Area are a part of Ebira Tao people of the Central Senatorial District of Kogi State. They are believed to have migrated from Jukun in the present day

Taraba State Taraba is a States of Nigeria, state in north-eastern Nigeria, named after the Taraba River, which traverses the southern part of the state. It is known as "Nature's Gift to the Nation". Its capital is Jalingo. The state's main Demographics ...

and had a brief stopover in Idah before moving to their current location. The present Okene LGA is composed of Okene and Okengwe districts. There are 11 wards in the Local Government, namely Bariki, Otutu, Orietesu, Lafia/Obessa, Okene-Eba, Idoji, Onyukoko, Obehira-Eba, Obehira-Uvete, Abuga/Ozuja and Upogoro/Odenku wards. The population is predominantly Muslims, but a sizeable Christian minority also exists. To a great extent, there is a fusion of tradition and religions with only a negligible few still practicing exclusively traditional religion. One of the most popular attractions in the town is the ''Azad Palace'', which is the personal property of the Ohinoyi (King) of Ebiraland, Dr. Ado Ibrahim Atta, who is now late.

Climate

References

Okene Page on Ebira Online Media
Hotel.ng/places {{Authority control Local Government Areas in Kogi State Cities in Yorubaland Cities in Nigeria