Aba, town, Umuahia Province, Central-Eastern State, southern Nigeria, on the west bank of the Aba River; it lies on the railroad from Port Harcourt, 36 mi (58 km) southwest, and at the intersection of roads from Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Opobo. Aba was a traditional market town for the Ibo people of the tropical rain forest before the establishment of a British military post there in 1901. With the construction of the railway in 1915 from Port Harcourt, it became a major collecting point for agricultural produce (especially palm oil and palm kernels). By the 1 930s it was a settled urban community and is now the province’s largest industrial centre. The modern town is compact, well planned, and laid out around its main thoroughfare, Asa Road.

BR> An 18-mi pipeline from the Imo River natural-gas field provides power for Aba’s industrial estate, which lies north of the town between the river and the railroad sidings. Textiles, pharmaceuticals, soap, plastics, and furniture are manufactured. There is also a brewery. Aba is the seat of a teacher-training school and several technical and trade institutes; its Roman Catholic, Ibibio (Qua Iboe) tribal, and Apostolic Christian missions also sponsor secondary schools. The town is noted for its handicrafts. It has a television station and several hospitals and maternity clinics. Latest pop. est. 163,610.
5°06’ N, 7°2l’ E


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