DELTA TRADE FAIR
ORGANIZED BY: DELTA ASSOCIATION OF CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY, MINES & AGRICULTURE

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BRIEF ON DELTA STATE

Delta State was created on the 27th August, 1991 from the defunct Bendel State. Bendel State was formerly known as the Midwestern Region at the time it gained regional status in August, 1963, from the then western region. At the inception of Delta State, it was made up of twelve political division called Local Government Area (L.G.A), which was later increased to 19 in 1996. Presently the State is made up of 25 Local Government Areas. The State is divided into three Senatorial Districts, which are Delta North, Delta South and Delta Central. The State currently covers a landmass of about 18,050Km2 of which more than 60% is land.

Delta State lies roughly between Longitude 5o00 and 6o.45' East and Latitude 5o00 and 6o.30' North. It is bounded in the North by Edo State, on the East by Anambra State on the South-East by Bayelsa State, and on the Southern flank is the Bright of Benin which covers approximately 160kilometres of the State's coastline. Delta State is generally low lying without remarkable hills. The State has a wide coastal belt interlace with rivulets and streams, which form part of the Niger-Delta.

The State capital is Asaba, a developing town located at the River Niger to the Northern end of the State. It has a network of good roads; and a master plan for transforming it into a modern city has been established by the State Government. Asaba is generally clean and has good drainage. There are schools, hospitals and standard hotels as well as communication facilities in the town which is the gateway to the East for travelers from the western part of the country. The 1991 provision census result put the population of the State at 2,590,491 (1,271,932 males and 1,318,559 female).

The state population is projected to be 3,629,103 in 2003. The major tribes in the state are urhobos, Izons, Isokos, Ibos and Itsekiris. Basically, they have identical customs, beliefs and cultures. The cultural identity is manifested in their festivals, traditional marriage ceremonies, while certain words are common to many tribes. Their systems of traditional administration tend to be identical as well their folktales, dances, arts and crafts. Farming, fishing, hunting and oil exploration are the major occupations of the inhabitants of Delta State, as about 80% of the active labour force is engaged in these occupational activities with the remaining 20% engaged in other occupations.

The state has tropical climate marked by two distinctive seasons, the Dry and Rainy seasons. The dry season occurs between November and April while the rainy season begins in April and last till October. Occasional rainfall may be experienced during the dry season and at the month there is occurrence of a brief dry season spell commonly referred to as August  break. The month of July witnesses the heaviest rainfall. The average annual rainfall in the coastal area is about 266.5cm and 190.5cm in the northern fringes of the state. The temperature is high, ranging between 28oC and 34oC with an average temperature of  30oC (81oF). The vegetation of Delta State varies from the mangrove Swamps along the coast to Evergreen forests and Savanna in the North.