The Joint Committee on Constitution Review of the Senate and House of Representatives has approved the creation of a new state in the South-East region.
The decision was reached on Saturday during a two-day retreat held in Lagos, where lawmakers reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.
In a statement released by the committee’s media unit, it said the move was to promote fairness and equity among the six geo-political zones.
The session was chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu. Both lawmakers agreed that creating another state in the South-East would balance the number of states across regions.
Kalu, who has been vocal about the issue, said the new state would give the people of the region a stronger sense of belonging.
When established, the South-East will have six states—matching the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East regions. The South-East currently has five states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
During the session, Senator Abdul Ningi from Bauchi Central moved the motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka, who represents Ifo/Ewekoro in Ogun State.
“The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted,” the statement added.
The committee also formed a sub-committee to look into the creation of more states and local government areas across the country, saying 278 proposals had been submitted for review.
Speaking at the retreat, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin urged members to seek wider support from other lawmakers and state Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions succeed 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,” Jibrin said.
