By: Sunday Ameh
The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the Review of the 1999 Constitution has approved the creation of six additional states across the country.
This development was one of the key resolutions reached at the end of the committee’s two-day retreat held in Lagos, co-chaired by Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, and Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
According to reports, the joint committee considered a total of 69 constitutional amendment bills, 55 separate requests for state creation, two proposals for boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests during the retreat.
After extensive deliberations on the 55 state creation proposals, the committee unanimously resolved that six new states be created — one in each of the six geopolitical zones of the federation.
If implemented, this move will increase Nigeria’s total number of states from 36 to 42.
Under the proposal, the South South and South West zones will now each have seven states, the South East will have six, the North Central and North East will have seven each, while the North West will have eight.
A principal officer of the National Assembly, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that the resolution enjoyed unanimous support from lawmakers across both chambers in the spirit of fairness, equity, and balanced representation.
The committee also resolved to establish a special subcommittee tasked with identifying the specific areas from which the six additional states will be carved.
Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, the Senate Chief Whip, has been appointed to chair the subcommittee, which will review all pending requests and make recommendations.
A member of the subcommittee from the North West zone assured Nigerians that the selection process would be transparent and equitable.
“We will meticulously review the 55 requests for state creation to come up with the areas where the six new states will be carved from. We will be fair and just to all the promoters of state creation,” he stated.
The final report of the Joint Committee on Constitution Review is expected to be presented to both chambers of the National Assembly in the first week of November for consideration and adoption.
If passed and subsequently ratified through the constitutional amendment process, this development could mark one of the most significant structural changes in Nigeria’s political and administrative landscape since the creation of Bayelsa State in 1996.
Leave a Reply