Gombe State History, LGAs and Senatorial Districts

Gombe State history and capital, Gombe State Local Government Areas and Senatorial Zones/ Districts in Gombe State. The post also has Local Government Area that make each Gombe State Senatorial Districts.

Gombe is a state in north-eastern Nigeria, it was created out of Bauchi State on 1st October 1996 by the late General Sanni Abachas Administration with its capital at Gombe.

Gombe State shares boundaries with Yobe State to the North, Adamawa and Taraba States to the South, Borno State to the East, and Bauchi State to the West. The State, nicknamed the Jewel of Excellence, was formed in October 1996 from part of the old Bauchi State by the Abacha military government. Its location in the north eastern zone, right within the expansive savannah, allows the state to share common borders with the states of Borno, Yobe, Taraba, Adamawa and Bauchi. The state has an area of 20,265 km2 and a population of around 1.8 million.

Historically, Gombe state is a fusion of two distinct groups of people, comprising the emirate of gombe North and the ethnic grouping of Gombe South. Bubayero estalished the Emirate during the jihad period of 1800. It emerged as part of a larger state building force of 19th century Sokoto jihad.

Read: Nigerian States and Capitals

The Emirate government, which had its head quarters in Gombe Abba was formed to effectively control what constitutes a larger part of the Gombe State, until the advent of the British in the early 20th century.

Under the British, the state was administered through the mechanism of two administrative units, i.e. Gombe native Authority and Tangale Waja Native Authorities. The two Authorities constituted Gombe division during the colonial era. However, with independence in 1960 and the subsequent military administration, many changes occured which led to the emergence of local government authorities. Thus, between 1976 and the present, the then two authorities had metarmorphosed into the present 11 local governments.

The state comprises many tribal groups which include Tangale, Terawa, Waja, Kumo, Fulani, Kanuri, Bolewa, Jukun, Pero/Shonge, Tula, Cham, Lunguda, Dadiya, Banbuka , Hausa and Kamo/Awak. Hausa is the commercial language amidst the people.

Gombe State is mainly populated by Fulani People constituting more than half of the state population (more than 50%) Other minor ethnic groups include the Hausa, Bolewa, Tera, Tangale, Waja and Kanuri.

Education is given priority in the state and many primary and secondary schools, colleges of education, and an Arabic teacher’s college have been established to provide the people with quality education.

The people of Gombe state are primarily farmers producing food and cash crops, they include Cereals: Maize, Soghum,Rice and wheats: Legumes: Cowpeas, groundnuts,soya beans and bambara nuts. Fruits: Orange, Lemon, Mango, Guava, Paw-paw and grapes. Vegetables: Tomatoes, pepper, onions, okra, pumpkin and melon. Tree Crops: Gum Arabic, Kenaf, sugar cane, sunflower and ginger..

Gombe is blessed with natural resources like Uranium, Gypsum, and Limestone.
Recently, petroleum deposits were reported to have been discovered in the state

Read: Nigerian History

Tourist attractions in the state includes: The Tomb of Sultan Attairu, The Tomb of Bubayero, The famous Bima Hill, The Dadin Kowa Dam, The Killang hill, The Tula Plateau, The Bulok warm Spring, The Kalam hill, The Cham Valley, The Ancient Binga Ruins, Major Marsh Grave, Lt. Philips Grave, Bage hills, Tula hideout caves, kanawa forest.

Gombe State is divided into eleven local government councils. The local councils are Gombe, Billiri, Akko, Balanga, Shongom, Funikaye, Dukku, Yamatta, Bayoga, and Kwami local council.

Gombe emirate was founded in 1804 by Buba Yero (Abubakar), a follower of the Muslim Fulani leader Usman dan Fodio. The emirate headquarters of Gambe was established about 1824 and renamed Gombe Aba (“Old Gombe”) in 1841. The emirate prospered until the 1880s, when religious warfare and the encroachment of British colonial rule brought severe disruption to the area. The emirate capital was moved in 1913 to Nafada and in 1919 to Doma, which was then renamed Gombe.

Lying in the wooded savanna lands of the Gongola River basin, the area is mainly inhabited by the Fulani, Bolewa, Tera (Terawa), Tangale, Hausa, Kanuri, Waja (Wajawa), and Tula peoples. Important market centres in addition to Gombe town include Kumo, Deba Habe, Pindiga, Dukku, and Nafada. The multipurpose Dadin Kowa Dam is on the nearby Gongola River.

Gombe town is a major collecting point, especially since the opening of the railroad in 1963, for peanuts (groundnuts) and cotton and is a local trade centre in sorghum, millet, cowpeas, cassava (manioc), beans, onions, and tobacco. The people keep cattle, goats, sheep, horses, and donkeys and practice the traditional crafts of weaving and dyeing cotton. The town is served by a national technical teacher-training college and an Arabic teacher-training college. Gombe is located just south of the railway from Bauchi to Maiduguri and on the secondary highway between Bauchi and Kumo. Pop. (2016 est.) urban agglom., 460,000.

Gombe State Senatorial Zones / Districts

Gombe state have three (3) Senatorial Zones / Districts. They are Gombe Central Senatorial Zone / District, Gombe North Senatorial Zone / District and Gombe South Senatorial Zone / District. Below are the Senatorial Zones / Districts and the local government areas that made up the districts.

Gombe Central Senatorial Zone / District

Akko Local Government Area
Yalmaltu / Deba Local Government Area

Gombe North Senatorial Zone / District

Dukku Local Government Area
Funakaye Local Government Area
Gombe Local Government Area
Kwami Local Government Area
Nafada Local Government Area

Gombe South Senatorial Zone / District

Balanga Local Government Area
Billiri Local Government Area
Kaltungo Local Government Area
Shongom Local Government Area

Gombe State Local Government Areas

Gombe state has eleven (11) local government areas which are:

Akko Local Government

Billiri Local Government

Kaltungo Local Government

Shongom Local Government

Balanga Local Governmen

Yamaltu- Deba Local Government

Dukku Local Government

Nafada local Government

Funakaye- Bajoga Local Government

Kwami Local Government

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