National Assembly approves new state creation for south east, independent candidacy

The National Assembly joint committee on Constitution review has unanimously agreed and approved creation of another state in the south east region.

The joint committee is made up of members of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

The decision was reached during a two-day retreat held in Lagos, where the committee reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The South East currently has five states, the least among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, most of which have six or seven states.

The session, chaired by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, deliberated extensively on the long-standing demand for a sixth state in the region.

Following 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 unanimous support and was adopted by the committee.

In addition to approving the new state, the committee also endorsed provisions for independent candidacy in future elections and an additional seat for women in both the Senate and House of Representatives, as part of ongoing constitutional reforms aimed at deepening democracy and inclusion.

The committee further set up a subcommittee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas nationwide, after receiving 278 proposals on the matter.

Senator Jibrin urged lawmakers to build consensus among their colleagues and across State Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions are passed during voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process,” Jibrin said. “By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders.”