The Eastern Region was an administrative region in Nigeria, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its first capital was Calabar. The capital was later moved to Enugu and the second capital was Umuahia. The region was officially divided in 1967 into three new states, the East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern State. East-Central State had its capital at Enugu, which is now part of Enugu State.
The region had the country's third-, fourth- and fifth-largest indigenous ethnic groups including Igbo, Ibibio and Ijaw, respectively. It was what later became Biafra, which was in rebellion from 1967 to 1970.
