National Assembly Committee Approves Creation of New State in 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 region, a move aimed at ensuring fairness and equity among Nigeria’s geo-political zones.

With the proposed addition, the South-East, currently made up of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, will have six states, bringing it on par with other zones such as the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East. The North-West remains the only zone with seven states.

The decision was reached during a two-day retreat held in Lagos on Saturday, where lawmakers reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country. The session was chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who both emphasized the need for balance and inclusivity in Nigeria’s federal structure.

Kalu, who has been at the forefront of the advocacy, said the creation of a new state would give the South-East people a greater sense of belonging.

According to a statement from the committee’s media unit, the motion for the new state was moved by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) and seconded by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State), after which members unanimously adopted it.

In addition, the committee set up a sub-committee to consider other state and local government creation requests across all six geo-political zones, revealing that it received 278 proposals in total.

Deputy Senate President Jibrin urged members to engage their colleagues in both chambers and the state assemblies to secure broad support for the proposal during the final voting stage.

“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,” Jibrin stated.