Constitution Review: NASS Joint Committee okays 1 more State for the South-East
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 created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central and North-East zones with six states.
The South-East is the only geo-political zone with five states comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The North-West comprises seven states made up of Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto and Jigawa states.
The resolution of the committee was reached during a two-day retreat in Lagos on Saturday, where it reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.
The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, deliberated on the subject matter and resolved that in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.
Kalu, who joined other lawmakers to champion additional state creation for the region, argued that a new state would give the people a sense of belonging.
A statement on Saturday by the media unit of the joint committee quoted members as voting in favour of granting additional states to the South-East.
“Following the deliberations, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved a motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Hon Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State).
“The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted,” the statement read in part.
Similarly, the committee also established a sub-committee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.
Speaking at the event, 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.
“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,” the Deputy Senate President was quoted as saying.
