Ekiti is a state located in the western part of Nigeria between longitudes 40°51² and 50°451² East of the Greenwich meridian and latitudes 70°151² and 80°51² north of the Equator. It has its capital city as Ado Ekiti.
It was declared a state on 1st October 1996 alongside five others by the military under the dictatorship of General Sani Abacha. The state was carved out of the territory of old Ondo State, covers the former twelve local government areas that made up the Ekiti Zone of old Ondo State.
It lies south of Kwara and Kogi State, East of Osun State and bounded by Ondo State in the East and in the south, with a total land Area of 5887.890sq km. Ekiti State has 16 Local Government Councils.
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 Ekiti is a sub-group of the 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.
