The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review has proposed the creation of 31 new states in Nigeria. This proposal was contained in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary session by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.
According to the proposal, the new states will be distributed across the six geopolitical zones in the country. The North Central zone will have six new states, while the North East will have four. The North West will have five new states, and the South East will also have five.The South South zone will have four new states, and the South West will have seven. The proposed new states include Okun, Okura, and Confluence states from Kogi, as well as Benue Ala and Apa states from Benue.
Other proposed states include FCT state, Amana state from Adamawa, Katagum from Bauchi, and Savannah states from Borno and Muri State from Taraba. The proposal also includes New Kaduna state and Gujarat states from Kaduna state.
The proposed states also include Tiga and Ari from Kano, and Kainji from Kebbi state. Etiti and Orashi are proposed as the 6th state in the South East, while Adada is proposed from Enugu, and Orlu and Aba from the South East.
Other proposed states include Ogoja from Cross River State, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos, Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun state.
The proposal also includes Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun states. The Committee chaired by Kalu outlined specific requirements that must be fulfilled to initiate the process of state creation.
These requirements include the support of at least two-thirds majority of members of the National Assembly, as well as the approval of the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council.
The Committee emphasized that proposals must be submitted in strict adherence to the stipulated guidelines, and that only proposals that comply with the guidelines will be considered.
