Capital of Bayelsa State — Yenagoa

The land that is today Bayelsa State has been inhabited by the Ijaw people for well over three thousand years, making the Ijaw one of the oldest continuous inhabitants of the Niger Delta and, by many scholarly accounts, one of the oldest settled peoples in sub-Saharan Africa. The Ijaw (also written Izon or Ijo) are a collection of culturally and linguistically related peoples bound together by sha

First governor: DSP Alamieyeseigha (elected 1999); Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (first elected); Lt. Col. Walter Feghabo (first military administrator)

Read full Bayelsa State history →

The economy of Bayelsa is heavily dependent on crude oil and natural gas production. It also has strong potential in fishing, agriculture, and maritime activities due to its riverine geography.

As capital, Yenagoa concentrates civil service employment and administrative services that support the wider Bayelsa economy.

Yenagoa is the political and administrative centre of Bayelsa State in Nigeria’s South South zone. Government House, the State House of Assembly and core ministries are based here.

Bayelsa State, known as “Glory of All Lands”, relies on Yenagoa as its primary seat of government.

For census totals, growth rates and LGA breakdowns, use the dedicated Bayelsa population page — this capital page focuses on the seat of government, not state-wide demographics.