The National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Constitution Review has given unanimous backing to the proposal for creating an additional state in Nigeria’s South East region.
The decision was reached during a two-day retreat held in Lagos, where lawmakers evaluated various proposals, including the creation of 55 new states across the country.
The South East currently comprises five states; Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo making it the only region with fewer than six states.
The proposed addition aims to correct this imbalance, as other regions like the South-South, South West, North Central and North East each have six states, while the North West has seven.
The meeting, co-chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, also saw the committee approve the inclusion of independent candidates in all elections and an extra seat for women in each state within both chambers of the National Assembly.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) sponsored the motion for the creation of the new South East state, which was seconded by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Ogun State).
The proposal received unanimous support from committee members, leading to its adoption.
To further assess the requests for the creation of additional states and local government areas across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, the joint committee established a subcommittee composed of one Senator and one Representative from each state.
