The third major ethnic group is the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria, of whose members live in small and democratic settlements. The largest political unit is the village, which is ruled by a council of elders (chosen by merit and not heredity) rather than by a chief. A smaller proportion live in large towns and are culturally much closer to the Edo of neighbouring Benin City (in Edo state) than to the Igbo east of the lower Niger valley.
Less numerous groups include the Ibibio, who live near the Igbo and share many of their cultural traits, and the Edo of Benin City, who, though influenced to a small degree by their Yoruba neighbours, created the important precolonial kingdom of Benin. In the middle belt, where the greatest concentration of ethnic groups (more than 180) occurs, the Tiv and the Nupe are the largest groups.
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