The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has unanimously approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone, increasing the region’s total to six.
The decision was reached during a two-day retreat in Lagos, where the committee reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.
Currently, the South-East has five states. This is fewer than the six or seven that make up other geopolitical zones.
The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, deliberated extensively on the matter.
Kalu, among other many lawmakers who had consistently championed the demand for an additional state for the region, reiterated that the request was anchored on principles of equity, justice, and fairness.
Members of the Committee, who unanimously approved the request, later took turns to deliberate on the issue, speaking in favour of granting the South-East an additional state.
Following the deliberations, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved a motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State).
The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted.
In a related development, the joint committee also established a sub-committee to further consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geopolitical zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.
In his remarks, Senator Barau Jibrin urged members to rally support among their colleagues at the National Assembly and state houses of assembly to ensure the resolutions sail through during voting.
“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process,” Jibrin said.
“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.”
