Local governments are the third tier of government in Nigeria, and indeed they play a major role in our politics and politicking , this is due to the fact they are the grassroots of politics and the miniature school where politicians are built and nutured.
However unlike states , many Nigerians do not know that there is indeed a largest local government area in the country , this is because emphasis is usually placed on states when matters of population and landmass are discussed , this piece is therefore about to show you the local government area which has the largest landmass in Nigeria according to official accounts.
The name of local government is Toro local government, with headquarters in Toro Bauchi state of northeastern Nigeria.
POPULATION
According to the last official census conducted in 2006 , the local government is home to some 350,000 people and the figure might have risen to nearly half a million going by Nigeria’s growth from the then 140 million to 200 million at a growth rate of about 43 percent since the census .
LAND MASS
This is the main reason behind the notability of this unusual local government, it has a land mass of about 6,932 square kilometers, this land mass is greater than that of six Nigerian States like ; Ekiti , Abia , Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra and Lagos as all of this states have less than 6500 square kilometers in area , thus making it the largest in Nigeria and in West Africa in general.
Despite the fact that Bauchi state is the fourth largest state in Nigeria , this local government alone accounts for more than fourteen percent of the state’s total landmass, thus placing the local government at a very advantageous point in the scheme of things in the state , as a result the local government has produced many Notable politicians both within and outside Bauchi state.