By Correspondent in Lagos.
Nigeria may soon witness the creation of six additional states, as the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved proposals to expand the country’s federating units from 36 to 42.
Our correspondent reports that the landmark decision is one of the key resolutions reached at the end of a two-day retreat held in Lagos, co-chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
During the retreat, the joint committee reviewed a total of 69 constitutional amendment bills, which included 55 requests for state creation, two proposals for boundary adjustments, and 278 requests for new local government areas.
After deliberations on the state creation proposals, members unanimously agreed on the establishment of six new states,one in each of the country’s geopolitical zones.
If ratified by both chambers of the National Assembly and approved through the constitutional process, the new arrangement will see:
South-South increase from six to seven states,
South-West from six to seven,
South-East from five to six,
North-West from seven to eight,
North-East from six to seven, and
North-Central from six to seven.
The resolution will form part of the committee’s final report to be presented to both chambers of the National Assembly in the first week of November.
To actualize the decision, lawmakers also agreed to set up a subcommittee tasked with identifying the specific areas from which the proposed states will be carved. The subcommittee will be chaired by the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno.
A member of the subcommittee from the North assured that the review process will be transparent, fair, and inclusive, adding that all 55 state creation requests will be carefully evaluated.
“We will meticulously review all the submissions to determine where the six new states will emerge from,” the member said. “Our goal is to be fair and just to all promoters of state creation.”
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
