Following the approval for the creation of a new state in the Southeast region of the country by the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Constitution Review, last weekend, LAWRENCE NJOKU, in this report, looks at the feasibility of the proposal, pointing out the factors that may favour or mar it.
Many issues hobble the creation of a new state in the Southeast region proposed by the Joint Committee of the National Assembly (NASS) on Constitution Review. While there are doubts on one hand about the feasibility of the venture in certain quarters, there are also strong indications that a possible name and location of the new state may throw fresh contention in the region following the plethora of demands within the zone. The way it is, almost every state in the region wants a state to be carved out of it.
Apparently, to end the long-standing agitation over the region’s perceived marginalisation in Nigeria’s political structure, the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on the review of the 1999 Constitution had last week approved the creation of an additional state in the Southeast geopolitical zone. The move, many have said, was to create a balance in the political structure of the country. The zone is the least in terms of states in Nigeria with only five states. The people of the area had severally placed the need to equal it with others and saw the inequality as marginalisation.
From its apex socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to the political and religious classes, they had spoken and presented their demands to almost every government in power since the last state’s creation exercise.
Since the last creation of states by the military head of State, late Sani Abacha, in 1996, in which the Southeast region benefited from the creation of Ebonyi State, the region had not rested in complaining that it should be made equal with other regions of the country. These agitations became more ferocious when it was realised that the number of states available in each region is the basis for the sharing of the nation’s resources. The zone had always received the least allocation among other accruals distributed by the Federal Government due to the number of states it has.
The decision of the Joint Committee of the National Assembly, if ratified, would increase the number of states in the region from five to six, and bring it at par with some regions of the country with similar numbers of states, such as South-south, South-west, North-central and Northeast.
Why NASS’ Pronouncement May Elicit Fresh Contests In The Zone
Creating an additional state in the Southeast region had always dominated various political gatherings and constitutional amendment exercises in the country. In fact, at the last public hearing on constitutional amendment conducted by the current National Assembly for Southeast in Enugu State in July this year, creation of a new state for the region dominated the hearing. Like a recurring decimal, the proponents of Adada State from the current Enugu North in Enugu State had represented their demand for its creation.
Leader of the Adada movement and former minister, John Nnia Nwodo, had told the committee that Adada remained the longest state demand having been recognised and recommended by the National Assembly in 1983. Nwodo had disclosed that the people of Enugu North senatorial district who constitute 52 per cent of the population of the state, with Isi-Uzo Local Council, are the seven local councils seeking for the Adada State creation.
“We saw injustice during the creation of Enugu and Ebonyi states. We approached other constitution review committees that heard us but above all was the Justice Kutige-led constitutional conference that recommended Adada State creation from the Southeast.
“In the present circumstance, we have 100 per cent uniformity of agreement, starting from the councillors, council chairmen, states and National Assembly members and governors who have all signed for the demand,” he said.
Proponents for the creation of Adada State listed local councils in it as Uzo-Uwani, Igbo-Etiti, Isi-Uzo, Nsukka, Udenu, Igbo-Eze South and Igbo-Eze North, stressing that it meets the criteria for state creation.
They explained that the same arbitrariness in the creation of local councils without consideration for population and landmass left Nsukka Urban, which has over 200 public/private schools, as the only urban local council in the whole of the former eastern region since 1976 when it can conveniently give birth to more local councils.
Aside from Adada State, there are other state demands in the region. These include Aba, Njaba, Orashi, Etiti, and recently Anim State. Those calling for Aba state want it to be carved out of Abia State from the Ngwa axis, while those agitating for Njaba and Orashi states want them carved out of Imo State. Advocates for Etiti State say it will encompass parts of Abia (Umunneoche), Imo State (Okigwe) and parts of Ebonyi State (Afikpo), among others.
Meanwhile, Anim State had surfaced at the recent public hearing in Enugu. Its proponents had stated that it would include parts of Anambra, Imo and Rivers States. Local governments listed to be part of the state include Ohaji/Egbema, Ihiala, Oguta, Oru East, Njaba, Isu, Nwangene, Nkwere, Ideato South, Orlu, Oru West, Orsu and Ideato North.
There are also calls for the creation of Anioma State from Delta and Anambra states as a way of not only expanding the shores of the Southeast but also to capture other Igbo separated from their people by virtue of state creation.
An Ohanaeze Ndigbo chieftain, Dr. Joshua Nwanganga, told The Guardian that the numerous agitations were expected, stressing that they were meant to ignite pressure on the need for another state in the region, adding that, “we will resolve all those at the right time.” He said that at the appropriate time, a suitable name would be given to the new state, adding that its location would also not be a problem for the Igbo.
He added that what should bother the mind at the moment was how the National Assembly would ensure the implementation of its recommendation to the letter, stressing that if achieved, the 10th Assembly will break the jinx about the inability of civilian administrations to create states in Nigeria since the restoration of democracy in 1999.
Feasibility Of A New State
According to an Enugu-based lawyer, James Oko, the journey to creating a new state begins with the submission of a bill or request to the National Assembly by the interested parties.
He stated that the request must be voted on by members representing the areas in question at the Senate, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly, with a two-thirds majority required for its passage. Oko noted that clearing this hurdle would help facilitate assent to the bill by the President.
To the Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Ibuchukwu Ezike, creating a sixth state in the Southeast is unrealistic because of the various factors that have hobbled state creation in the country.
According to him, these factors are both internal and external. “Internal factors are precipitated by the struggle among different sections of Ndigbo who are competing for the state to be created for them within the Southeast. From Abia state, the request for Aba state is high. So, it is for Orashi state by the areas bordering Anambra, Delta, Imo and Rivers states. No specific legislators are sponsoring the motions for these two proposals. People from the areas proposed the states to the National Assembly. The Igbo Nsukka people of Enugu North Senatorial District and Isi-Uzo in Enugu East Senatorial zone are agitating for Adada state being sponsored by Senator Okey Ezea of Enugu State. Orlu people of Imo state are asking for Orlu state. Hon. Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu (Ideato North federal Constituency) of Imo state is leading the campaign for the proposed state. Yet, there is another agitation for Etiti state by people from the five states of the Southeast region. Hon. Amaobi Ogah (Isikwuato/Umunneochi federal Constituency (Abia state) who is supported by Hon. Miriam Odinaka Onuoha (Okigwe North, Imo state), Hon. Princess Kama Nkemkamma (Ivo/Ohaozara/Onicha, Ebonyi state and Hon. Anayo Onwuegbu (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River, Enugu state) federal Constituencies propose Etiti state. None of the agitators for any of these proposed states are playing; they hold very strongly that they stand the chance to win the slot.
“The last agitation is coming from the Anioma people of Delta State being sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North Senatorial District). They are also very serious and I do not think that any of the agitators will support the agitation for the creation of any one state in place of his. It is very difficult. This is the first hurdle which is internal,” he said.
Ezike pointed out that the second hurdle is external and twofold. “One is the division in the National Assembly. The House of Representatives supports a state to be created from the Southeast because all the proposals at the House are from the Southeast; while two proposals – Adada from the Southeast and Anioma from the present South-South but peopled by Igbo natives – are domiciled in the Senate.
“Again, all the ethnic nationalities in Nigeria demand an equal number of states because they do not see the reason the North West should have seven states and the rest have six and the oppressed South East only five. This was the argument that prevailed at the 2014 Jonathan National Conference when the issue of state creation came up,” he noted.
Ezike added that even if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to creating a new state from the Southeast, he would not want to recommend any name in order not to offend those that could vote for him.
Also, an elder statesman, Chief Chekwas Okorie, was not excited at the approval by the National Assembly for the creation of an additional state in the Southeast geopolitical zone because of the hurdles posed by the constitution of the country.
His words: “My scepticism stems from the deliberate huddles put in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended against the creation of states anywhere in Nigeria. This is the reason no civilian or democratically elected government has been able to create any state outside the ones created by military fiat. Previous governments since 1999 have attempted to create states based on popular demands and failed to do so. Besides the approval by the National Assembly, the constitution requires the concurrence of a minimum of 24 states of Nigeria and the FCT.
“After this rigorous process, there will still be a referendum or plebiscite to confirm that a simple majority of the people of the area indeed agree to the creation of the state. In my opinion, the approval of the creation of a state in the Southeast by the National Assembly is a mere grandstanding intended to sedate the people of the zone into believing that their yearning for an additional state is being given attention.”
He, however, added that despite his reservations, he would fully support the creation of Anioma state whenever possible and make it a part of the Southeast geopolitical zone for many reasons, including balancing the states of the federation according to the six geopolitical zones.
But a founding member of the APC, Osita Okechukwu, said he would remain “one of the happiest men on earth” if an additional state is created in the Southeast, stressing that doing so would mean the actual end of the Nigerian Civil War.
“Without being immodest, many viewed the skewed nature of the creation of states and local governments as kind of willful denial, deprivation and retribution; especially when the allocation of revenue and offices, like ministerial appointments, are consequent upon the number of states and local governments each major tribe has. It has remained a bleeding pain and source of agitation against marginalisation.
“Therefore, it will enhance national cohesion and sense of belonging, in a political climate where both ardent Muslims and Christians deliberately ignore the truism that none of us instructed Almighty God to assign us to be born Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba. For me, it remains a puzzle why people deliberately marginalise people based on tribe and religion, when we are aware that 98 per cent of citizens are Muslims and Christians because of their parentage, which is nobody’s choice,” he argued.
Okechukwu expressed fear that the location of the state would be a herculean choice, because of the “stomach infrastructure mindset, revenue allocation factor and quest to be governor, senator, Assembly members.”
He added that “such selfish mindset unfortunately dominates our psyche.” He, however, threw his weight behind the creation of Adada State, saying it was “consensus among Ndigbo.”
A professor of International Law and Global Politics, Jehu Onyekwere, said that the possibility of state creation in the Southeast looks promising after the National Assembly’s joint committee approved it.
Onyekwere listed the several proposals currently from the region, stressing that while three of the proposals seemed more central to the intended need “we are expecting the approval to be given to only one proposal.”
According to him, “it seems imperative to consider Adada state and Anioma state,” adding that “there should be a robust discussion to select one out of the two best matching proposals.”
He stated that the proposals highlight the region’s desire for more representation and balanced development, stressing that the final decision on the state’s location would depend on the National Assembly’s deliberations and approvals.
However, National President, Njiko Igbo, the Rev. Okechukwu Obioha, did differ sharply on the move by the National Assembly to create a new state in the Southeast, insisting that it was aimed at capturing the zone for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obioha added that the approval by the Joint Committee of the National Assembly (NASS) on Constitution Review was an attempt to distract the region from the ongoing “persecution” of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), stressing that the current administration had not shown the Southeast that it is a part of the country.
He said: “I don’t want to believe them and I encourage every Igbo man to take that pronouncement of giving us an extra state with a pinch of salt. We have about 55 requests from the country, so why are they narrowing to the Southeast? All these have political motives and nobody should believe them. It is not going to work. The resolutions at the retreat will be sent to the National Assembly and they will move it to the state Assemblies.
“It is a move to capture the Southeast for the APC. All these are geared towards winning the votes from the Southeast because the election is coming next year. When you look at history and all the promises made in the past, none have been implemented. So, I do not see any light at the end of the tunnel.”
The avalanche of doubts notwithstanding, the current governance structure of the country may enhance the chance of creating an additional state in the Southeast or indeed ensuring equality in the number of states across the six geopolitical zones. The ruling APC currently controls 24 out of the 36 states of the federation, with speculation rife that more opposition governors may defect to the party with their entire structures. The party has also secured a two-thirds majority in the Senate, the threshold required to easily pass and approve key legislation or government policies. Whether it will use its current strength to push the state creation agenda through and etch its name in history remains to be seen.
