Senate, House Committees endorse creation of new South-East State

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 geo-political zone.

When established, the new state will bring the South-East at par with other zones such as the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East, each of which currently has six states.

The South-East remains the only region with five, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

The resolution was reached during a two-day retreat held in Lagos on Saturday, where the committee reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The session, chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, resolved that in the interest of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should establish another state for the South-East.

Kalu, one of the lawmakers leading the push, said the creation of a new state would give the region a stronger sense of belonging within the Nigerian federation.

According to a statement from the committee’s media unit, members voted unanimously in favour of the proposal after Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved the motion, which was seconded by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State).

The statement read, “The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted.”

In addition, the committee set up a sub-committee to assess the creation of more states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones, revealing that 278 proposals had been submitted for review.

Deputy Senate President Jibrin urged members to mobilise support among their colleagues in both the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolution succeeds when it is presented for voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.”

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“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,” he said.

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