Abia State

Abia Listen^ⓘ (Igbo:Alaọha Abia) is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. The legislature is the Abia State House of Assembly.

Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enugu and Ebonyi. The state is divided between the Niger Delta swamp forests in the south and the Cross–Niger transition forests. The Imo and Aba Rivers flows along the state's western and southern borders respectively. Known for producing crude oil and natural gas, Abia ranks the eighth by Human Development Index since 2019.

The name "Abia" is an abbreviation of Abia state's four densely populated regions Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato, and Afikpo. Abia's slogan is "God's own state". Abia is one of the 36 states in Nigeria, and has seventeen Local government areas. It was created on 27 August 1991 out of Imo State by General Ibrahim Babangida, and it is located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria with Umuahia as the capital, and Aba as the commercial city.

Abia State's history begins as part of the Aro Confederacy until its defeat in the early 1900s by the British troops during the Anglo-Aro War. After the war, the area was incorporated into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate of British Nigeria. After Nigeria's independence in 1960, Abia became part of the Eastern Region until 1967 before the region was split, and it became part of the East Central State. The Eastern Region attempted to secede in Nigerian Civil War with Abia as part of the secessionist state of Biafra. After the war and the then reunification of Nigeria, the East Central State was merged until 1976 when Imo including Abia, was formed by Murtala Muhammed. Eastern Imo would later become the old Abia State after a split. In 1996, part of Abia's northeast was removed to form a part of the new Ebonyi.

The Igbo people make up 100% of the state's population and the official language is Igbo.. There are over 3 million Christians. Catholic Hierarchy analyses that there are 689,668 Catholics (2020) in Diocese of Umuahia with over 70 parishes, and Aba Diocese with over 90 parishes, both suffragans of the Archdiocese of Owerri.