Overview

Mainly an upland zone rising over 250 metres above sea level, Ekiti has a rhythmically undulating surface. The landscape consists of ancient plains broken by steep-sided outcropping dome rocks. These rocks may occur singularly or in groups or ridges and the most notable of these are to be found in Efon-Alaaye, Ikere-Ekiti and Okemesi-Ekiti.

An important feature of the state is the large number of hills it possesses, which are often the site of towns in which much of the population resides. In fact, the word ‘Ekiti’ was derived from the local term for hill.

The State enjoys a tropical climate with two distinct seasons. These are the rainy season (April – October) and the dry season (November – March). Temperature ranges between 21^oC and 28^oC with high humidity. The south – westerly winds and the North East Trade winds blow in the raining and dry (Harmattan) seasons respectively. Tropical Forest exists in the south, while guinea savanna predominates in the northern peripheries.

The Ekiti is a sub-group of the Yoruba , and indeed their ancestors migrated from Ile-Ife, the spiritual home of all Yoruba . The local dialect is spoken with slight variations in the different communities, but this does not prevent Ekiti indigenes from understanding each other. Christianity, Islam and traditional religions are all practiced.

The people of Ekiti are culturally homogenous and speak a special dialect of Yoruba language known as Ekiti. The dialect however varies across locations, e.g. Otun people (in Moba land) speak a dialect close to that of the Igbominas in Kwara and Osun States; the Oke-Ako, Irele and Omu-Oke people speak a dialect similar to that spoken by the Ijumus in Kogi State. The people of Efon Alaaye also speak a similar dialect to that of the Ijesas of Osun State. Although slight (and in very few locations, somewhat wide) variations exist in the local dialects, the Ekiti people understand each other and communicate pretty well.

Politics here can offer surprises, with voters not always following their relatives at the polls. This, given the Ekiti sense that they must struggle for recognition within the Yoruba camp, is perhaps not surprising. In the Second Republic the Ekiti favoured the party of the South-West, the UPN. The Third Republic saw them stray somewhat, giving three seats to the NRC.

In the Fourth Republic, now more secure perhaps with their own state, the electorate returned to the fold, as it were, embracing the AD to the turn of two out of three Senate seats, all six House seats, the governorship and 22 out of 26 state assembly jurisdictions. The PDP managed a senator and three state assembly seats, while the APP had to settle for a lone representative.

Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Ekiti, and it is the major source of income for many in the state. Agriculture provides income and employment for more than 75% of the population of Ekiti State.

Some of Ekiti’s agricultural produce are: Cash crops such as Cocoa, Oil Palm, Kolanut, Plantain, Bananas, Cashew, Citrus and Timber; Arable /Food Crops such as Rice, Yam, Cassava, Maize and cowpea. A detailed list of agricultural produce is contained in the tables below.

Cash Crops

S/No	Crop	Locations	Uses
1	Cocoa	Ise, Emure, Ilawe, Ado, Igede, Igbara, Odo, Aramoko, Ikoro	Cocoa butter, Cocoa, Powder, Beverages, Cocoa Liquor and Export
2	Oil Palm	Spread across the State	Vegetable Oil, Spices, Flavoring and export
3	Kola Nut	Ikoro, Igede, Ise and generally in the forest zone	Stimulants and export
4	Plantain/Banana	Widespread across the State	Plantain Flour, Plantain Beer, Plantain Balls & Chips/Crape
5	Cashew	Northern part of the State	Oil, Nuts and for export
6	Citrus	Widespread across the State	Fruit, Juice, Fruit Wine and for export
7	Rubber	Southern part of the State	Tyre manufacturing, Crepe and for export
8	Timber	Ijero, Ise, Ikere, Aramoko, Ado	Log, Planks, Panel Furniture Ilawe and for export

Arable/Food Crops

S/No	Crop	Highly Cultivated LGAs	Industrial Uses/Products
1	Rice	Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ekiti West, Ekiti East, Ikole	Flour, Grits, Grains
2	Yam	Widely cultivated across the State	Yam Flour
3	Cassava	Widely cultivated across the State	Garri, Starch, Adhesive, Mosquito Expeller, Livestock Feeds, Chips, Yeast, Alcohol Products
4	Maize	Widely cultivated across the State	Maize, Grit, Corn Flour
5	Cowpea	Northern Part of the State	Grits, Flour
6	Plantain & Banana	Widely cultivated across the State	Plantain Flour, Plantain Chips/Crepe, Plantain Juice & Beer

Ekiti is rich in natural mineral resources, with several of these yet to be tapped. They include casserrite, columbite and tantalite which are found in Ijero-Ekiti, ceramic (ball) clays and kaolinitic clays which are available in Isan Ekiti and Oye Local Government Area.
Feldspar which is used in the manufacture of glass is found in Oke Ewu in Ijero Ekiti and in Aramoko. Bauxite clay is available in Orin-Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area, while foundry quartzite can be found around Ijero and Efon Alaaye, Ekiti.
Dimension stones like granites, charconites and banded gneisses exist extensively in Ikere-Ekiti, Ado-Ekiti, Oye-Ekiti, Ewu and Otun-Ekiti. Mica/Moscovite is found in most parts of the state, while Tantalum is also available in Ijero.
A comprehensive list of natural resources can be found in the table below.

S/No	Types of Mineral	Town	LGA	Industrial Uses/Product
1	Clay Kaolin	Isan-Ekiti	Oye	Chemicals, Industrials abrasive, Ceramics wares,  Pharmaceuticals, Fertilizers. White tiles, Insulator wares, Pencils.
2	Cassiterite and Tin Ore	Ijero-Ekiti	Ijero	Tin Planting, Tin Can, Alloys Printings and Dying.
3	Columbite	Ijero-Ekiti	Ijero	Special Steel, Electronic Tube, Filaments in Rackets and Air Craft Manufacture
4	Bauxite (Aluminum Ore)	Orin-Ekiti	Ido Osi	Aluminum Productsproduction
5	Foundry Sand	Ijero-Ekiti	Ijero	Foundry Ceramics Manufactureof Glass Wares
6	Charnochite Granite	Ikere-Ekiti, Ado-Ekiti, Emure-Ekiti, Aramoko	Ikere, Ado, Emure, Ekiti West	Stone Cutting and Polishing, Road Aggregate

S/No	LG Name	HQ
1	Ado-Ekiti	Ado-Ekiti
2	Efon-Alaaye	Efon-Alaaye
3	Ekiti East	Omuo-Ekiti
4	Ekiti South West	Ilawe-Ekiti
5	Ekiti West	Aramoko
6	Emure	Emure-Ekiti
7	Gbonyin (Aiyekire)	Ode-Ekiti
8	Ise/Orun	Ise-Ekiti
9	Ido-Osi	Ido-Ekiti
10	Ijero	Ijero-Ekiti
11	Ikere	Ikere-Ekiti
12	Ikole	Ikole-Ekiti
13	Ilejemeje	Iye-Ekiti
14	Irepodun/Ifelodun	Igede-Ekiti
15	Moba	Otun-Ekiti
16	Oye	Oye-Ekiti

Ekiti Central Senatorial District

• Ado Local Government Area
• Efon Local Government Area
• Ekiti West Local Government Area
• Ijero Local Government Area
• Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area

Ekiti North Senatorial District

• Ido/Osi Local Government Area
• Ikole Local Government Area
• Ilejemeje Local Government Area
• Moba Local Government Area
• Oye Local Government Area

Ekiti South Senatorial District

• Ekiti East Local Government Area
• Ekiti South West Local Government Area
• Emure Local Government Area
• Gbonyin Local Government Area
• Ikere Local Government Area
• Ise/Orun Local Government Area

Federal Constituencies

• Ekiti Central I – Ado/Irepodun/Ifelodun
• Ekiti Central II – Ijero/Efon/Ekiti West
• Ekiti North I – Ikole/Oye
• Ekiti North II – Ido-Osi/Ilejemeje/Moba
• Ekiti South I – Ekiti South West/Ikere/Ise-Orun
• Ekiti South II – Ekiti East/Emure/Gbonyin