THE House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review on Thursday, February 6, proposed the creation of 31 additional states across Nigeria.
If approved, it would increase the number of states in Nigeria to 67.
During the plenary session, deputy speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided in the absence of the speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, read a letter outlining the recommendations of the committee.
Kalu detailed the proposed distribution of the new states, with six allocated to the North Central, four to the North-East, five to the North-West, five to the South-East, four to the South-South, and seven to the South-West.
READ THIS: Five tools to detect audio deepfakes
The proposed new states are New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna State, FCT State, Tiga and Ari from Kano, Kainji from Kebbi State, and Etiti, Orashi, Adada, and Orlu from the South-East.
Others are Okun, Okura, and Confluence states from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa states from Benue; Amana state from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi state; Savannah state from Borno; and Muri State from Taraba.
Also included are Lagoon from Lagos, Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun State as well as Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun States, Ogoja from Cross River State, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, and Ibadan from Oyo State.
History of state creation in Nigeria
Nigeria currently has 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). All the states were created by military heads of state.
It must be noted that no civilian president has ever succeeded in creating any state in Nigeria.
In 1967, former Military Head of State, Yakubu Gowon created 12 states through a military decree. The states he created are the North-Western State, the North-Eastern State, Kano State, Kaduna (North Central), Benue-Plateau State and Kwara State.
Others are the Western State and Lagos State the former western region was split into two States: The former Mid-Western region became the Mid-Western State, while the former eastern region had three new States carved out from it. These were Rivers State, South-Eastern and the East Central State.
In 1976, Murtala Mohammed’s military government created another seven new states, making it 19. The states are Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Imo, Niger, Ogun and Ondo.
This was followed by two new states in 1987 and another nine new states in 1991, by the Ibrahim Babangida military regime to make it 30 states.
The states created by Babangida are Akwa Ibom, Katsina, Abia, Enugu, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Kogi, Taraba and Yobe.
The last time Nigeria created new states was in 1996, by the late Sani Abacha, a general.
Abacha created six new states namely Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa and Zamfara.
Rigorous process of state creation
The House during its session outlined a rigorous process that must be followed to meet the constitutional requirements for the creation of new states in Nigeria.
The process involves securing the approval of at least a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, as well as endorsements from the House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly, and Local Government Councils.
In accordance with Section 8 of the Nigerian Constitution, any new state creation must be preceded by a referendum conducted by the State Houses of Assembly.
The proposal also called for the resubmission of proposals in line with the prescribed guidelines, which includes submitting hard copies and electronic copies of memoranda to the committee’s secretariat.
Constitutional requirement
The process of creating new states in Nigeria is a complex and multi-layered one, governed by Section 8 of the Nigerian Constitution.
To understand the requirements and procedures involved, it is essential to carefully examine the provisions of this section.
According to an Ilorin, Kwara state-based lawyer, Moshood Ibrahim, the issue of state creation is a very complex procedure.
“The procedure is so complex that it will be so difficult for any democratically elected government to achieve the creation of a new state. No wonder most of our states were created by the military dictators,” Ibrahim stated.
According to the lawyer, the journey to creating a new state begins with the submission of a bill or request to the National Assembly by the interested parties.
This bill must then be voted on by members representing the areas in question at the national assembly, house of representatives and states house of assembly, with a two-third majority required in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Once this hurdle is cleared, the bill is sent to the State House of Assembly and Local Government Council of the area in question, where it must again receive a two-third majority vote. If the bill is successful at this stage, it is then forwarded to the President for assent.
ALSO READ: Does Nigeria’s electoral law say a contestant for House of Reps seat must possess N70 million cash?
However, the process does not end there. The proposal for the creation of a new state must also be approved by the citizens of the area in question through a referendum conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). For the referendum to be successful, a two-third majority of the people in question must consent to the creation of the new state.
The result of the referendum must then be approved by all states of the Federation through their respective Houses of Assembly, with a simple majority required.
Finally, the President must give his assent to the referendum, marking the final step in the process of creating a new state.
In a nutshell, the creation of additional states involves the following procedures:
- Submission of a bill to the National Assembly
- Voting by members representing the areas in question, with a two-thirds majority required
- Approval by the State House of Assembly and Local Government Council, with a two-thirds majority required
- Approval by citizens of the area in question through a referendum, with a two-thirds majority required
- Approval by all states of the Federation through their respective Houses of Assembly, with a simple majority required
- Final assent by the President
- By following these steps, a new state can be created in Nigeria, in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
Ogoja state is One of the oldest province that have not become a state if Ogoja state is created it will bring more yield to Nigeria.Ogoja is rich with minerals resources like, rice, cassava, salt, Cocoa ,ranch, timber, groundnuts etc