The Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state for the South-East geopolitical zone. This was part of the resolutions adopted at the committee’s recent retreat in Lagos. The motion for the new state creation was moved by Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) and seconded by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (Ogun State). After a robust debate, the proposal received unanimous backing from members of both chambers in consideration of equity, justice, and fairness. In addition to the creation of an additional state for the South-East region, the joint committee also recommended the institutionalisation of independent candidacy and the establishment of gender-based legislative seats.
We welcome the proposal for the creation of additional state for the South-East and commend the lawmakers for the bold initiative. An additional state for the South-East is long overdue and will go a long way in assuaging the feeling of marginalisation which the people of the zone have been complaining about. The South-East has been agitating for an additional state and has made several presentations to successive administrations in the country, to bring the zone at par with others. The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has been in the forefront of the agitation. The group made the request to the former President Muhammadu Buhari and urged him to send an executive bill to the National Assembly for the immediate creation of additional state and more local governments in the South-East. But the request was not heeded.
In the present political dispensation, Ohanaeze has also enjoined President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to create a new state for the South-East in order to address the injustice of the region having only five states. The group had at a point, threatened to sue the federal government if it failed to give the region an additional state equivalent to other zones in the country. The demand is in order and in line with the thinking of the indigenes of the region and other Nigerians of good conscience. The minimum number of states in other regions is six, with the North-West having seven. Only the South-East has five states. It is a structural anomaly that should be corrected. As a result of the deficit in the number of states in the region, out of the 774 local government areas in the country, the South-East has 95 only, thereby making it the region with the least number of local government areas in the country. The North-West has 186 local government areas, the highest in the country. The North-Central has 114, while the South-South has 125.
The lopsidedness in the local government distribution is disadvantageous to the South-East. In a system where federal appointments and enlistment into the military, police and other security agencies is based the number of state and local governments per zone, the South-East is always at a loss. The structural imbalance deprives the zone a whole State legislative assembly, constituency representations in the House of Representatives, and three senators in the Senate. The impact of the inequity is also felt during the presidential primaries, where delegates are drawn from states and local governments. These are in addition to the losses and deprivations the South-East has incurred over the years in federal revenue allocations.
The leaders and stakeholders from the South-East have for years clamoured for a sixth state for the region to ensure parity with other regions of the federation, without success. There is no explanation whatsoever for the South-East having only five states, while other zones have six and one zone has seven states. For equity and fairness, the South-East should have at least one more state. An additional state for the South-East will go a long way in addressing the restiveness and separatist agitation by youths of the region. The National Assembly Constitution Review Panel is right in its recommendation for an additional state in the area. The agenda should go beyond mere proposal and be put into action. Let the federal government sponsor an executive bill to the National Assembly for additional state for the region.
Leaders of the region should close ranks and make more push to realize the agenda. They should act in unison and with unity of purpose to ensure that this window of opportunity created by the Constitution Review Panel is not fluffed on the altar of selfishness and greed. This is not the time for petty arguments on what section of the region the proposed state should be carved from. Equally, let the representatives of the region in the National Assembly liaise with their colleagues from other geo-political zones to ensure that the recommendation by the Constitution Review Committee is implemented. Apart from equity and fairness, creating additional state for the South-East will bring healing and end the recurring cry of marginalization.
