Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, Victor Umeh, has commended the National Assembly’s approval for the creation of an additional state in the Southeast.
Naijaonpoint reports that Umeh, during an interview on Arise Television on Tuesday, described the development as a significant step that accords with justice, equity and fairness.
According to him, the decision marks a significant step toward addressing decades of political and structural marginalisation in the region.
Umeh noted that, out of the 55 requests for new states nationwide, the Joint Committee unanimously agreed that the Southeast should be given one first, describing the decision as a long-overdue recognition of the region’s shortchanging in state creation.
Umeh stressed that once the Southeast gets its additional state, future state creations would be considered on an equal basis across all six zones.
He said, “This agitation for one additional state in the Southeast is not a new thing. As far back as 2014, when we were at the National Conference, the whole 492 delegates that attended agreed unanimously that the Southeast deserved one additional state before demands from other parts of Nigeria would be considered.
“What the Senate and the House of Representatives did at this retreat last weekend is another confirmation of the justice of the matter.”
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