Imo State lies in Nigeria’s southeast, with Owerri as its capital. It was created on 3 February 1976, during the wave of state creation under Murtala Mohammed’s government.
The state borders Anambra to the north, Abia to the east, and Rivers to the south and west.
Nearly everyone in Imo is Igbo, roughly 98 percent of the population, and the Igbo language works alongside English as the state’s everyday tongue.
Palm oil underpins daily life for many households here, used in cooking across the state and sold well beyond it. Crude oil and natural gas extraction, concentrated in the north and west, adds a second major income stream, with more than 160 oil wells spread across a dozen or so locations.
Oguta Lake, one of the largest natural lakes in the southeast, draws visitors for boating and fishing, and the Palm Beach Holiday Resort in Awo Omamma has grown into a popular weekend spot. The Njaba River winds through the state for about 26 kilometers before joining larger waterways.
Imo has produced Olympic gold medalist Chioma Ajunwa, footballer Kelechi Iheanacho, actresses Genevieve Nnaji and Rita Dominic, musician Chidinma, and both the current governor, Hope Uzodinma, and former governor Rochas Okorocha.
Lagos Street sits off Douglas Road in Owerri Municipal Local Government Area, Imo State, near Eke Ukwu Owerri market in the state capital’s commercial core.
South Africa is a section of Nekede, in Owerri West Local Government Area, Imo State, a student and lodging area built up around Federal Polytechnic Nekede.
