Yenagoa is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. Its capital is Yenagoa. The language spoken here is Ijaw language and dialects of the Ijaw language such as Nembe, Atissa, Akassa, Ogbia, etc. However, like the rest of Nigeria,...

, 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...

. Its headquarters are in the town of Yenagoa (the State capital) in the south of the area at4°55′29"N 6°15′51"E.

The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 353,344 at the 2006 census.

The postal code

Postal code

A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...

 of the area is 561.

Yenagoa is the traditional home of the Ijaw

Ijaw

Ijaw are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are natives of Akwa-Ibom, Edo, and Ondo states also in Nigeria...

 people, Nigeria's fourth largest ethnic group after the Hausa

Hausa people

The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...

, Yoruba

Yoruba people

The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...

 and Igbo

Igbo people

Igbo people, also referred to as the Ibo, Ebo, Eboans or Heebo are an ethnic group living chiefly in southeastern Nigeria. They speak Igbo, which includes various Igboid languages and dialects; today, a majority of them speak English alongside Igbo as a result of British colonialism...

. The Ijaw form the majority of the town. English is the official language, but Epie/Atissa language, one of the Ijo languages

Ijo languages

Ijaw, also spelled Ịjọ, is the main subgroup of the Ijoid group of Niger–Congo languages. Ijaw languages are spoken in southern Nigeria by the Ijaw people....

, is the major local language spoken in Yenagoa.

Since attaining the status of state capital in 1996, construction and other activities have accelerated appreciably. Yenagoa's population is estimated at about 150,000 people. It is the home of the Bayelsa United FC

Bayelsa United FC

Bayelsa United FC is a football club based in Yenagoa, Nigeria. They play in the second division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is Yenagoa Township Stadium...

, a premier league football club

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

.