Oguta
About
Oguta is a town and local government area in Imo State, southeastern Nigeria, located on the eastern bank of Oguta Lake. The local government area has Oguta as its headquarters and is one of the twenty-seven local government areas that make up Imo State. The area is known for its oil and gas fields, which host several multinational oil companies, and for its lake and waterways. Oguta is also called Oguta-Ameshi or Ameshi by its indigenes. The old part of the town holds 27 villages, while the newer part is known as the Oguta New Layout. The area is a socio-geographic community with an estimated surface area of about 2,025.75 square kilometres, and it is one of the four crude oil producing local governments in Imo State.
History
Oguta was one of the oldest trade and administrative centres in Nigeria, owing to its strategic waterways, oil and gas, palm produce and agricultural products. The British, through the Royal Niger Company, UAC and then the British Colonial Government, used and exploited the area's lake and river advantages. During the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, Oguta's waterways were used by British and later Nigerian government forces as routes to access and connect to surrounding towns and villages inhabited mainly by other Igbo peoples.
Source: Wikipedia: Oguta
Key Facts
State
Imo State
Headquarters
Oguta
Chairman
Ifeanyi Nani
Area
2,025.75 km²
Population
20,096 (2012)