Ned Nwoko assaulted as Southeast Govs, lawmakers recommend Adada, Anim to NASS for state creation

...Nsukka hails  

The Senator representing Delta North Senatorial district, Senator Ned Nwoko, was reportedly beating blue black by a member of the House of Representatives from Enugu State (name withheld) for poke nosing into the affairs of South East concern.

Sources in Abuja told Daily Insider that Nwoke had, on Tuesday, strolled into where the south east caucus of the members of National Assembly were meeting to select two states for presentation to the National Assembly when the Enugu Rep stopped him and asked him to leave the venue since he hailed from South South zone and not South east.

Nwoko was said to have tried to put some resistance which made the Enugu lawmaker to give Nwoko an upper cut that distablized him and mad him to leave the venue by force.

Outcome of the meeting was the recommendation by the Governors of five states in the south east members of the National Assembly from the zone for two agitating states for the National Assembly to take one to be created in the south east for equality of states with other geopolitical zones in the country.

The two recommended states for selection of one are the proposed Adada state, out of Enugu State, and Anim state, that will be carved out from the present Anambra and Imo states, respectively.

A competent source in the National Assembly told Daily Insider that the recommendation was concluded on Wednesday night after so much commotion and horse trading by the numerous agitating states in the south east and beyond.

The source said that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu is expected to issue a statement in that regard today.

Subsequently, the Adada State Movement Commended the South East Governors and their legislators in the National Assembly for finally endorsing and recommending Adada to the National Assembly for consideration.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Adada State Movement, Mr. Ike Abonyi said that the Movement expressed satisfaction with the leaders, "for appropriately removing some meddlesome interlopers who came to cause confusion in the process."

The group urged both the South East Governors Forum and the South East National Assembly caucus to harmonise and stand on their decision by monitoring the situation as it is presented to the National Assembly for final consideration.

"The region must take no actions that could undermine the rectification of a longstanding injustice regarding state creation for the region," Abonyi charged.

Recall that the Joint Constitutional Amendment Committee of the National Assembly had recommended the creation of one additional state in the South-East to ensure parity with other geopolitical zones and also proposed the creation of another additional state in each of the six geopolitical zones, resulting in a total of two new states from the South-East.

To successfully navigate the National Assembly process, every agitating state need to meet the requirements outlined in Section 8(1)(a) of the amended 1999 Constitution and Part 1 (1)(2) of the Creation of States and Boundary Adjustment (Procedure) Act, CAP C37 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.