N'Assembly Committee Approves Creation of New State in South East

In what has been described as a landmark step towards addressing Nigeria’s long-standing regional imbalance, the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Constitution Review has approved the creation of a new state in the South East geopolitical zone.

The decision, reached at the end of a two-day retreat in Lagos, will increase the number of states in the South East from five to six, bringing the region closer in parity to others that currently have six or seven states.

The retreat was chaired by Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

Lawmakers deliberated on 55 separate proposals for state creation submitted from across the country.

Kalu, a consistent advocate for the creation of a sixth state in the South East, said the approval was guided by principles of equity and fairness.

"This decision is not about politics or sentiment. It is about fairness to a region that has, for too long, been short-changed in the federation’s structure," he said.

The motion for the new state, moved by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) and seconded by Hon Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State), received unanimous approval from the joint committee.

In a related development, the committee also set up a subcommittee to further consider other proposals for the creation of new states and local government areas across the six geopolitical zones. 

The subcommittee is expected to review 278 submissions already before the National Assembly.

In his closing remarks, Senator Barau Jibrin urged members to intensify consultations and advocacy across both chambers and state legislatures to ensure the proposal’s success when it comes up for constitutional amendment voting.

"We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process. 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," Jibrin said.

If passed by two-thirds of the National Assembly and ratified by at least 24 State Houses of Assembly, the proposed state would officially become Nigeria’s 37th.