A fresh proposal by the House of Representatives Constitution Review Committee to create 31 additional states in Nigeria has triggered strong reactions from prominent individuals and socio-political groups across the country.
The proposal, which would increase Nigeria’s current 36 states to 67, was contained in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary session by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided in the absence of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Proposed New States Across Regions
According to the letter, the proposed states include:
– North-Central: Okun, Okura, and Confluence (from Kogi); Benue Ala and Apa (from Benue); FCT State
– North-East: Amana (Adamawa); Katagum (Bauchi); Savannah (Borno); Muri (Taraba)
– North-West: New Kaduna, Gujarat (Kaduna); Tiga, Ari (Kano); Kainji (Kebbi)
– South-East: Etiti, Orashi (sixth states in the South-East); Adada (Enugu); Orlu (Imo); Aba (Abia)
– South-South: Ogoja (Cross River); Warri (Delta); Ori, Obolo (Rivers)
– South-West: Torumbe (Ondo); Ibadan (Oyo); Lagoon (Lagos); Ijebu, Ogun (Ogun); Oke-Ogun/Ijesha (Oyo/Ogun/Osun)
The committee stated that the creation of new states must meet constitutional requirements, including a two-thirds majority approval from the National Assembly, the affected State Houses of Assembly, and Local Government Councils.
Afenifere, Arewa Groups Reject Proposal
However, major socio-cultural groups, including Afenifere and the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), have rejected the proposal, describing it as “ridiculous and unnecessary.”
The National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, Abagun Kole Omololu in an interview with Punch, dismissed the move, stating that it contradicts Afenifere’s longstanding demand for true federalism.
He said, “The recent proposal by the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review to create 31 new states does not align with Afenifere’s long-standing demand for true federalism.
“Instead of addressing the core structural issues plaguing Nigeria, this initiative appears to be a mere political exercise that will further weaken governance and deepen economic inefficiencies.’’
Afenifere has consistently advocated genuine fiscal federalism, similar to what Nigeria’s founding fathers agreed upon before independence.
Omololu noted, “The creation of more states without a viable economic foundation will only compound the financial burden on the nation, as many existing states are already struggling to generate sufficient Internally Generated Revenue and rely heavily on federal allocations to survive.
“Turning every local government into a state is not the solution to Nigeria’s governance challenges. The real issue is not the number of states but the dysfunctional federal structure that has concentrated power at the centre, stifling regional development.”
Instead of proliferating states that may later be unviable, Afenifere urged the National Assembly to focus on constitutional reforms that would devolve power, return resource control to the regions, and grant states the autonomy to develop at their own pace.
“Nigeria needs a system where states or regions control their resources and contribute an agreed percentage to the federal government, just as it was during the First Republic. This is the only path to sustainable development, not the reckless creation of more administrative units.
“Afenifere rejects this proposal and calls on well-meaning Nigerians to resist attempts to distract from the real conversation—restructuring and true federalism,” Omololu declared.
Arewa Consultative Forum Oppose Lawmakers’ Move
The Arewa Consultative Forum similarly expressed strong opposition to the proposed creation of 31 new states, describing the idea as unnecessary.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ACF, Prof Tukur Muhammad-Baba, stated that the forum was not in support of the proposed creation of new states, citing the country’s complexity and the potential for creating more problems.
According to him, the more states created, the more demands that will emerge, leading to more acrimonies.
He questioned the economic viability of the existing 36 states, highlighting the administrative burdens and overhead costs associated with governorship and civil service.
The ACF spokesperson, who spoke to Punch in Kaduna on Thursday, emphasised that creating new states would be too expensive and unnecessary. It would only provide opportunities for the elite to assume leadership positions without necessarily improving the states’ economic viability.
He said, “We have not seen the details of the proposed states, but it’s ridiculous. How long are we going to be creating states and creating problems in this country?
“How many of the 36 states are viable economically? How many of the states can carry the administrative burdens of governorship and all it takes – the civil service and the amount of expenditure on overhead?
“Honestly, I don’t think the creation of states is our priority because it’s too expensive and unnecessary, and there is no way it will stop. It’s opening up room for more demands and more acrimony.”
Instead of creating new states, he advised the government to focus on addressing the social and economic challenges facing the people.
“We hope that more rational heads will prevail over the issue, but right now, honestly, it’s not the priority; affecting the lives, and the social-economic standing of the people is a better objective to pursue.
“Creation of state as we have seen will not solve our problems. It will give some elites a chance to assume leadership positions with all the perks that are attached to the office, but honestly, we don’t think economically, they will be viable,” Muhammad-Baba said.
Middle Belt Forum Supports Creation Of New States
However, Bitrus Pogu, the National President of the Middle Belt Forum, endorsed the proposal for additional states.
Speaking with Punch in Jos on Thursday, Pogu described the proposal as a welcome development that addresses the country’s long-standing issues of equity and governance.
As a proponent of the Savannah state, Pogu emphasized that the MBF supports the proposal, citing the need for a more inclusive and representative system of government.
“The challenge of Nigeria requires a lot of tinkering to get it right. There has been no equity in the whole process of governing Nigeria”, he said
Pogu highlighted the example of Southern Borno, which has never produced a governor; the position has always been held by either Northern or Central Borno.
He argued that the proposed creation of new states would help address the plurality of Nigeria and promote a more equitable distribution of power and resources.
The MBF has long advocated for greater autonomy and representation for the region’s diverse ethnic groups
The proposed creation of new states is seen as a significant step towards addressing the historical injustices and imbalances in the country’s governance structure.
Ohanaeze Endorse Move
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide declared that the South-East should be allocated more states to address “the wrongs that had been done to the region on state creation.’’
Ohanaeze’s National Publicity Secretary, Ezechi Chukwu, stated, “It is unfortunate that such a bill is also aimed at suppressing the South-East as usual. It is completely unacceptable that Southeast should be appropriated only five states.
“South-East, all these while, is the only zone in the Federal Republic of Nigeria that has the least number of states irrespective of our population and our contributions both economically and infrastructural development of the nation.
“So, giving southeast such a small number of five states in this bill when others that already have advantages orchestrated by successive governments before now is quite unacceptable and unfortunately, it is above all antithetical to the commonwealth of the South-Easterners and the so-called equity we are preaching in the country.”
He added, “South-East deserves more states more than any other zone in the country because South-East is the only zone that has been short-changed over the years by successive governments. So, if justice and equity should prevail southeast must be given the highest number of states.
“So, if the Federal Government fails to correct the wrongs that had been done to the South-East over the years, this is the time to at least give this equation some terms of balance by appropriating more number states to the South-East to make up with the other geopolitical zones.”
The Pan-Niger Delta Forum observed that the creation of more states could be meaningful if all the geo-political zones in the country have equal states as agreed in the last constitutional conference.
The spokesman for PANDEF, Christopher Ominimini, however, queried the viability of new states, pointing out that states should be created based on self-sustainability.
If the creation of more states became necessary, he argued it should be done equally across the board to even with the North-West, which has seven states.
Anything short of that, he noted, would be a perpetuation of the injustice in the country.
He said a situation where more states would be created to depend on the oil and gas from the Niger Delta region, while other states with mineral resources are allowed to exploit theirs is not the way to go.
He stated, “ Well, it is the right of the people to call for the creation of states. However, the most important thing is that in the last constitutional conference, it was agreed that all the geopolitical zones should have seven states each as it is in the North-West.
“So, the South -East should have additional two states so that it would be seven states. The South- West should have additional states to make it seven states.
He added, “But the question we want to ask is ‘will the states be viable?’ Do they have the means of survival if the vision of our forefathers are kept to? Because the vision of our forefathers who fought for the independence of this country is that the various states should control their resources and pay tax to the centre.”