The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has “approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geo-political zone.”
The decision was reached on Saturday in Lagos during a two-day retreat where the committee reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country, according to a statement released by the committee’s media unit.
The session, co-chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, resolved that creating a new state for the region is necessary in the spirit of fairness and equity.
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The South-East is currently the “only geo-political zone with five states comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo,” while other zones—South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East—each have six states (the North-West has seven states).
Deputy Speaker Kalu championed the cause, arguing that a new state would give the people a sense of belonging.
If created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, each having six states.
The motion for the creation of the new state was moved by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) and “seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State).
The statement confirmed that “The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted.”
The committee also established a sub-committee to review a total of 278 proposals submitted for the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Senate President Jibrin urged members to secure the backing of their colleagues in the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions are passed during the final voting process.
Jibrin was quoted as saying: “We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.”
He concluded: “By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders—from both chambers and the state Houses of Assembly.”
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