Taraba State is a state

States of Nigeria

Nigeria is currently divided into 36 states and Abuja, the federal capital territory. The states are further divided into 774 Local Government Areas....

 of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, named after the Taraba River

Taraba River

The Taraba River is a river in Taraba State, Nigeria, a tributary of the Benue River.The major towns along the River Taraba are Sert-Baruwa, Sarki Ruwa, Karamti, Jamtari, Gangumi, Gayam and Bali LGA. The major economic activities on the river are fishing, farming of rice, yam, groundnut.the major...

 which traverses the southern part of the state. Taraba's capital is Jalingo

Jalingo

Jalingo is a city in north-eastern Nigeria. It is the capital city of Taraba State and has an estimated population of 118,000.-References:...

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The state was created out of the former Gongola State

Gongola State

Gongola State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 3 February 1976 from Adamawa and Sardauna Provinces of North-Eastern State, together with the Wukari Division of the then Benue-Plateau State; it existed until 27 August 1991, when it was divided into two states -...

 on 27 August 1991, by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida

Ibrahim Babangida

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida CFR DSS mni , popularly known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria...

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Taraba State is bounded in the west by Plateau

Plateau State

Plateau State is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria, and is roughly located in the center of the country. It is geographically unique in Nigeria because its boundaries totally surround the Jos Plateau, having the Jos Plateau totally in its central and northern part...

 and Benue State

Benue State

Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...

s and on the east by the Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. Taraba has sixteen Local Government Areas, which are governed by elected chairmen.