Delegates at the National Conference have
endorsed the recommendation for additional states
for the South- East. The delegates also approved the
creation of 18 new states nation-wide. The National
Judicial Institute (NJI) venue of the conference
erupted in celebration.
Soon yesterday, after they voted in favour of the
recommendation of the Committee on Political
Restructuring and Forms of Government, delegates
left their seats and exchanged pleasantries. For
once, delegates from the other five geo-political
zones joined their South-East counterparts in
celebrating what many described as a landmark
victory for the Igbos.
Apart from the 18 new states proposed, the
conference said a separate state-yet-to-be named
should be carved out of the South-East to bring the
number of the states in the zone to six. In creating a
new state from the South-East geopolitical zone, the
conference said the creation would correct the
imbalance of the zone having the least number of
states.
In the existing 36 states arrangement, each zone has
six states with only the North-West having seven
states. The new states proposed by the conference
are: Aba, to be carved out of the present Abia State;
Katagum, from Bauchi State; Ijebu, from Ogun State;
Amana, from former Sardauna Province; Apa, from
Benue State; Anioma, from Delta State, Savannah,
from Borno State; and Etiti, from South-East.
Others are Njaba/Anim, from Anambra and Imo
states; Gurara, from Kaduna State; Ghari, from
Kano State; Adada, New Oyo from Oyo State; Orachi,
from Rivers State; Ogoja, from Cross River State;
and Kainji, from Kebbi and Niger states. Two other
states, one each from the South-East and South-West
zones, are also yet to be named.
It was agreed by the delegates that the 18 new states
would be shared among the six zones in a manner
that no zone would have more states than the other.
Though it was also agreed that states were free to
have their constitutions, the request to change the
name of Adamawa State to Gongola State was
overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates.
The delegates also voted that the Presidency should
rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the
country.
However, a delegate, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN,
condemned the decision to create more states. He
said the action was at variance with the decisions
and resolutions earlier taken by the conference on
the need by government to cut cost.
"Having regard to the several resolutions of the
National Conference on the need to reduce the cost
of governance, I found the recommendation for the
creation of additional 18 states rather
contradictory," Falana said.
