The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state in Nigeria’s South-east region, a move aimed at addressing the long-standing concerns over marginalisation in the country’s political structure.
Once ratified, the decision will increase the number of states in the South-east from five to six, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s constitutional development. The approval came during the committee’s two-day retreat held in Lagos from October 24 to 25.
The Joint Committee, chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, deliberated extensively on the decades-long agitation for the creation of a sixth state in the region. Kalu, who has been a vocal advocate of the cause, described the decision as one grounded in “equity, justice, and fairness.”
During the retreat, the committee also reviewed a broad range of constitutional amendment proposals, including 55 separate requests for new states across the federation.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Senator Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo West) hailed the decision as “a right step in the right direction,” emphasizing that it would go a long way in addressing the perceived political imbalance faced by the South-east.
“The most important of all the approvals that we have gotten is that we have agreed today to give an additional state to the South-East to balance it six-six states per geo-political zone regardless of the North-West that has seven states,” Izunaso said.
He added that a special committee has been established to examine the modalities for creating additional states in other parts of the country that may have legitimate claims for statehood. “These are the things that we have achieved today. An additional state for South-East is a major achievement of this final retreat of the National Assembly Constitution Review Committee,” he added.
Senator Izunaso also addressed the issue of security, noting that the committee had deferred discussions on the creation of state police. Instead, a new subcommittee has been mandated to study the matter, along with issues relating to local government administration, and to submit a detailed report within two weeks.
What You Should Know
The approval for an additional state in the South-east marks a major step toward correcting regional imbalances in Nigeria’s state structure.
The South-east, with only five states, has long argued for parity with other regions that have six or more states.
If ratified by the National Assembly and approved through the constitutional process, this move could reshape Nigeria’s geopolitical framework and ease decades of perceived marginalisation in the region.
