FELIX NWANERI writes 
A familiar path as constitution review rekindles clamour for new states
FELIX NWANERI writes on renewed demands by some sections of the country for creation of new states as the National Assembly embarks on another round of constitutional amendment despite the fact that the current state structure is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain amid dwindling revenue
Creation of new states in Nigeria is a tall order as procedures to be adopted by the National Assembly according to Section 8 (i) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), states: “An Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if
(a) A request, supported by at least two-thirds majority of members (representing the area demanding the creation of the new state) in each of the following, namely (i) the Senate and the House of Representatives, (ii) The House of Assembly in respect of the area, and
(iii) The local government councils in respect of the area, is received by the National Assembly.” The section further states:
“(b) A proposal for the creation of the state is thereafter approved in a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of the people of the area where the demand for creation of the state originated;
(c) The result of the referendum is then approved by a simple majority of all the states of the federation supported by a simple majority of members of the Houses of Assembly; and
(d) The proposal is approved by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of members of each House of the National Assembly.”
Despite these tough conditions, it has been ceaseless demands for new states by the various ethnic nationalities that make up the country.
Among the reasons that have been persistently advanced by proponents of new states include marginalization and imbalance in the federal structure. The journey to Nigeria’s present 36 state-structure commenced with the 1914 amalgamation of the Southern and Northern protectorates by the British colonialists.
But at independence in 1960, the country had three regions – Northern, Eastern and Western regions. However, the creation of states would begin in 1967 under General Yakubu Gowon’s regime.
He dissolved the regions and created 12 states out of them. They are North-Western State, North-Eastern State, Kano State, North-Central State, Benue-Plateau State, Kwara State, Western State, Lagos State, Mid-Western State, Rivers State, South-Eastern State and East-Central State.
The number of states jumped to 19 in 1976, when the then Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, carved out seven new states fromtheexisting12.
TheyareNigerandSokoto from North-Western State; Bauchi, Gongola and Borno from North Eastern State; Plateau and Benue from Benue-Plateau State; Ondo, Ogun and Oyo from Western State; Imo and Anambra from East Central State. Eleven years later (1987), the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida created two new states – Akwa Ibom and Kastina – to bring the number of states to 21.
Akwa Ibom was carved out of Cross River State, while Kastina was carved out of Kaduna State. Babangida created additional nine states in 1991 to take the number of states to 30. The are Adamawa and Taraba from Gongola; Enugu from Anambra, Edo and Delta from then Bendel, Yobe from Borno, Jigawa from Kano, Kebbi from Sokoto and Osun from Oyo.
The General Sani Abacha regime which acted on the recommendations of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) on the need for more states, created six additional states on October 1, 1996.
That brought the number of states in Nigeria to 36. The states are Ebonyi that was created from Abia and Enugu; Bayelsa from Rivers, Nasarawa from Plateau, Zamfara from Sokoto, Gombe from Bauch and Ekiti from Ondo.
Quest for new states and constitution amendments
There is no doubt that the current 36 statestructure has become increasingly difficult to maintain due to dwindling revenue, but it has been unending demands for creation of new states since the last exercise by the Abacha regime 25 years ago.
The issue has always been a top priority each time the National Assembly embarks on constitution amendment under the present dispensation. Expectedly, it is again in the forefront as the Ninth National Assembly embarks on another review of the constitution.
Interestingly, the Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Ovie Omo- Agege, had earlier raised the hope of creation of new states, when he said there is no hindrance to states creation if proponents lobby well.
Omo-Agege, who maintained that the power of states creation lies with the National Assembly given the power bestowed on it as regards constitutional amendment, spoke in Abuja, last year, when he hosted a delegation from Katagum, Misau and Jama’are Emirates in Bauchi State.
The delegation had during its presentation of a memorandum to the Senate ad hoc committee, called for the creation of Katagum State from the present Bauchi State.
The Deputy President of the Senate, in his response, assured the team that the ad hoc committee on constitution review will harvest from the data bank of the National Assembly, the 2014 National Conference report, report of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Restructuring Panel on Restructuring as well as constitution alteration bills already referred to it in the course of its assignment.
His words then: “We have a lot of positions taken by various interests to the effect that the constitution review exercise is not necessary; that what they require is a complete rewrite of the Nigerian Constitution.
I am glad that we have seated before us here today in this delegation, people who are very well-read and lettered with sound knowledge of the constitution that the power granted to us as a National Assembly, precisely under section 9 of the Constitution, is a power to amend provisions of the constitution and not to rewrite the constitution.
“Irrespective of my personal views and the views of members of this committee, you will need to do a lot of lobbying.
No matter what we think as members of this committee about the appropriateness and justness of your cause, I want to plead with you to reach out to our colleagues from all of the geopolitical zones because not one state or geopolitical zone can give you a state. But it is about lobbying. If you do this, there is no reason why you should not be able to pull this through.”
The Deputy President of the Senate had in an earlier forum, called on his kinsmen under the aegis of Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU) to get the buy-in of other legislators and groups, especially as they are key in determining if demands for new states will see the light of the day in the ongoing constitution amendment exercise.
He gave the charge when he played host to the apex socio-cultural umbrella body of Urhobo people in September, last year. “Let me also make this clear that the constitutional review exercise is not a tea party by any means. It is a very tedious exercise.
If you check section 9 of the Constitution, it lays out a very difficult procedure that you must go through before you can achieve success concerning the amendment. “I don’t know what is in your submission but what I hear from the grapevine is that there is a likelihood that UPU is asking for a state. If that is right, I am sure you also know the provisions of section 8 of the Constitution.
That is even more tedious than every other procedure because unlike other sections of the constitution that recognises a constitution amendment bill to pass with a two-thirds majority of both chambers here and a two-third majority of the state Assembly, for state creation, which is under Section 8, it requires four-fifths of majority even more majority than the regular twothird. “But that is not to say it is impossible. If the demand is genuine and legitimate, there is no reason why it should not succeed. But you have to do the needful.
You have to reach out to others. You have to lobby as to why this should be the case. As the Chairman of this committee, I am not supposed to take a position. You have to reach out to people, different geopolitical zones and make your case.
“If they see the merit in your argument, then they could, acting through their members in the House of Representatives and Senate, go with you and vote in support.
You have to go out and lobby. You don’t stay at home and they reward you with a free state; it is only in the military era that states were created by fiat. Under democratic set up in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the procedures are well laid out under section 9 of the Constitution.”
Besides the Senate, the House of Representatives equally raised the hope of creation of new states. Deputy Speaker and chairman of the House ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, who spoke during the committee’s inauguration, said the Green Chamber will consider the creation of states, state police, true federalism, local government and judicial autonomy in the review of the 1999 constitution.
His words: “Let me start by stating that the need and importance of reviewing our extant constitution cannot be overemphasized as a vast majority of Nigerians consider the 1999 constitution a product of military exigency and that the reference to ‘We the people’ in the constitution does not truly represent them. Various political actors have therefore been advocating for a serious review. “There have been several attempts to amend the 1999 Constitution, yet the agitations for a much more fundamental amendment have not stopped.
This is because there are very critical aspects of our constitution that touch on our continued existence as a strong, indivisible nation. Until these critical areas are resolved, we may continue to face clamor for a new constitution. “Therefore, in order to achieve the much needed success by the Ninth Assembly, there are pertinent areas that must be looked into.
These are burning issues that have been left to burn for so long without giving them the much needed attention; the federal structure, local government autonomy, state policing, state creation and judicial autonomy.”
Wase, who disclosed that over 15 constitution alteration bills touching on these critical issues have already been referred to the committee, added: “It is pertinent to note that the current 36 states of our federation were created via military decrees hence the true wishes and aspirations of the people were never considered in such creations.
Therefore, there is the need to examine the subject of state creation and the associated constitutional rigours and difficulties surrounding it in such manner as to reflect the wishes and aspirations of homogenous people in a democratic system.”
Demands before Ninth Senate
Among ethnic nationalities that have so far tabled demands to have their own states include the Annang speaking people of Akwa Ibom State. They are calling for the creation of ITAI State from the present Akwa Ibom State.
A proposal and memorandum in that regard was submitted to the Senate ad-hoc Committee on Constitutional Review by leader of the delegation and chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ati Annang Foundation, Emem Akpabio, through the senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, Senator Chris Ekpenyong.
According to Akpabio, the people of the old Annang province led by representatives from Ati Annang,
Afe Annang, Afe Nkuku Annang and Annang leaders of thought decided to submit the proposal and memorandum for the creation of the state with its capital in Ikot Ekpene.
They explained that the Annang nation remains one of the country’s oldest nationalities, having homogeneous aborigines with a population of 1.1 million as projected from the provisional figures of the 1991 National census, covering eight local government areas of Abak, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim, Obot Akara, Ukanafun and Oruk Anam. Akpabio said they have confidence in the 9th National Assembly for the realization of the proposed state, which according to him, would be economically viable in the areas of agriculture, solid minerals, livestock and water resources.
“The memorandum for the creation of ITAI state became necessary because, over the years, the administration of Nigeria has been accomplished through the creation of units that make for political and socio-economic development.
It will be fair, just and equitable for the people of the old Annang province that had been overlooked during the various state creation exercises to be granted their wishes just like other old provinces.” There is also a demand for the creation of Katagum State from the present Bauchi State.
Its campaigners led by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, said the demand dates back to 1980s and that the Second Senate in 1981 as well as the 2014 National Conference approved it.
Alhaji Ahmed, who declared that the proposed state is economically viable in the areas of agriculture, solid minerals, livestock and water resources, added that it would bring development closer to the people when created.
“We are hereby presenting for your kind consideration, the request for the creation of Katagum State out of the present Bauchi State. We are doing so minding the fact that the National Assembly is the only body recognised constitutionally to initiate and create states. Anything outside that will not yield any positive result,” he told the Senate ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review.
The case of South-East
For the people of the South-East geo-political zone, their demand for an additional state has been a recurring decimal. Their quest is premised on the belief that an additional state will bring them at par with other zones of the country.
The South-East remains the only zone in the country with five states; Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. The South-South, South-West, North Central and North-East have six states each, while the North-West has seven states Before now, there have been campaigns by several groups in each of the five states of the South-East for the proposed new state to be created from their respective areas. In Abia State, there is a demand for the creation of Aba State.
Same goes for the people of the old Nsukka division in Enugu State, who want Adada State. The situation is the same in Imo State, where there are demands for Orlu, Njaba and Orashi states by different groups.
Agitators of Aba State made up of Ukwa and Ngwa ethnic nationalities said similar demands were made in 1915 to the British Colonial Government, in 1954 as well as in 1980 and 1983 to both Houses of the National Assembly. They listed states which were marked for creation along with Aba State at the time to include, Adamawa, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi, Taraba and Enugu.
Similarly, those behind the Adada State project argue that of all the old provinces in the then Eastern Nigeria, Nsukka province remains the only one that has not been accorded a state status.
They also argue that theirs’ remains the oldest outstanding state creation agitation in Igbo land, pointing out that their demand would have since come to fruition if not for the intervention by military in 1983 as the then National Assembly, had on March 16 of that year, moved a motion, calling for the creation of Adada State.
In Imo State, some leaders in Imo West Senatorial District teamed up with their counterparts in Anambra South to push for the creation of Njaba State, while others demanded for Orlu and Orashi states, respectively.
The proposed Njaba State, according to its promoters should be carved out of the 12 local government areas that makeup Imo West (Orlu Zone) of Imo State and Ihiala in Anambra State.
The local governments are Orlu, Orsu, Oru East, Oru West, Oguta, Ohaji/Egbema, Nkwerre, Nwangele, Isu, Njaba, Ideato North and Ideato South. Advocates of Orlu State, however, want the 12 councils that make up the zone to be accorded a state status.
A similar demand is that of Orashi State, which its proponents want some local government areas in Anambra and Rivers states to be added to it as the area is a virtual geographical autonomy of its own.
An endless list
Other new states being proposed in other geo political zones include: Toru-Ibe, Anioma, Oil Rivers, Ogoja, Afemaiesan and New Delta in the South-South; Oduduwa, Ijebu, Ibadan, Ijesha, New Oyo and Oke-Ogun in the South-West; Apa, Idoma, Edu, Okun and Oya in the North Central; Amana, Savannah in the North-East and Gurara in the North-West.
Demands reverberates at Senate public hearings
The fresh move to amend the constitution, which commenced with public hearings by the Senate at 12 centres across the six geopolitical zones of the country last week saw Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) demanding the creation of a new state from the present Kaduna State in order to stop the bloody violence in the state.
SOKAPU made the presentation through its president, Jonathan Asake, at the North-West public hearing on the constitution review in Kaduna. Noting that Southern and Northern Kaduna are infamous for incessant inter-ethnic and religious clashes for decades, Asake maintained that the creation of a new state from the present Kaduna State would go a long way in solving the age-long problem.
His words: “The wish of Southern Kaduna is to have a brand new constitution, not an amended one. But in the absence of that, we are here to make our inputs as a people who have suffered suppression and oppression for a long time. His words: “Southern Kaduna is made up of 67 ethnic nationalities spread in 13 of the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State.
It has a landmass of 26,000kmsq with an estimated population of 5.1 million. We are endowed with an educated population and with abundant natural resources. “Our land size is greater than that of Kano State which has a landmass of 20,000kmsq. Yet Kano is a state of its own with 44 LGAs. Our population is greater than 21 other states of the federation.
Therefore, we are demanding for the amendment of the provision of Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which makes it almost an impossible task for the creation of a new state.
“We have been demanding for a state of our own for over 30 years and Gurara State was among the 18 states proposed in the 2014 confab report. We are demanding the creation of the Gurara State after the amendment. This will help in solving the incessant conflicts between our people and the other divide.” Similar demands for the creation on new states were made at the Enugu and Owerri centres, where the respective states of the South-East submitted their memoranda.
At the Enugu venue of the public hearing for Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu states, a former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, drew the attention of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review to the age-long demand for the creation of Adada State. Nwodo, who said the South-East has long been marginalised in the distribution of state entities, maintained that the creation of an additional state will help give the people a sense of belonging.
He also noted that the demand for the creation of Adada State has come a long way, recalling how legislators in the South-East met in 2006 in Imo State, where they threw their weight behind the need for the creation of an additional state to be known as Adada. His words: “At a political meeting held in Imo, four state demands were presented to States Creation Movement for consideration. The four states include Aba, Adada, Njaba and Orashi but Adada was selected after winning the highest votes. The implication of this is that Adada State demand is the first choice of the South-East. And since then, signatures have been collected in this regard,” he said. At the Owerri centre for Imo and Abia states, Chief Theo Okire, who represented Aba Mass Movement, submitted that Aba State should be created out of the present Abia State. The leader of the movement, Mr. Emmanuel Adaelu, later said in a statement that the group will rely on Ohanaeze Committee on State Creation to actualize its bid. He disclosed that the committee had recommended the creation of Aba State in the report it submitted to South East Governors’ Forum more than two years ago.
His words: “The report is another pillar that supports our request. The committee considered the merit for the creation of Aba and Adada states, respectively, resolved and recommended for the creation of Aba State, with 12 members supporting, and five abstaining. The committee also recommended that any other state creation exercise in the South-East should give Adada State priority.”
A familiar path This is not the first time the National Assembly would be flooded by demands for new states during a constitution review process. It would be recalled that the number of memoranda submitted by various interest groups on state creation were more than 45 during a similar exercise by the Seventh Assembly in 2012. Thirty-four of such memoranda then were intra-state demands, seven interstate, while four cut across geopolitical zones.
Many have attributed the increase in the number of agitations for new states to minority fears, quest for equity as well as desire for speedy development, while others say they are inspired by the same concerns that preceded state creations in the past.
However, there are members of a political school, who believe that besides minority fears, inequity and skewed development, quest for political empires and influence by the elite class are the major motivations for the persistent demands for more states.
But whether the motivations for agitation for the new states are genuine and would solve the concerns raised by the agitators, questions that have been asked over time are: Has the creation of more states allayed the fears of minorities and the feelings of marginalisation and domination? Has it resulted to good governance and speedy development at the state level? If states are meant to bring governance closer to the people, what then is the essence of local government areas?
While satisfactory answers are yet to be provided to these questions, there is also a raging debate over the propriety or otherwise of the 36 state-structure as against a return to regionalism on the basis of the six geopolitical zones given that global trend is aggressively moving towards contraction of size of government and cost of governance.
This is even as most of the existing states are said to be insolvent according to the 2019 Annual States Viability Index (ASVI) released in July 2020 by Economic Confidential, an intelligence magazine. The report showed that only six out the 36 states are economically viable.
They are Enugu, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Ogun and Rivers. Listed as poor and insolvent states are Katsina, Kebbi, Borno, Bayelsa and Taraba states based on their poor Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is far below 10 per cent of their receipts from the federation account. The index proved that without the monthly disbursement from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), many states remain unviable, and cannot survive without the federally-collected revenue, mostly from the oil sector.
The IGR of the 36 states totalled N1.3 trillion in 2019, as compared to N1.1 trillion in 2018, an increase of about N200 billion. Of the states that are not economically viable, Katsina generated the poorest and lowest IGR compared to its federal allocation in 2019.
The report further showed that the IGR of Lagos State within the period under review, which stood at N398 billion, is higher than that of 20 other states put together.
It is against this backdrop that those, who believe that the idea for additional states be jettisoned, even called for a reduction in the number of the existing ones. According to them, Nigeria cannot attain development by high recurrent expenditure and reduced capital expenditure it has continued to experience as a result of proliferation of states.
Borno and Yobe states, which seemed to have toed this line of argument, in their separate submissions at Wednesday’s public hearing for the North-East zone in Bauchi, rejected calls for the creation of additional states and local councils as well as state police. Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Hon. Abdulkareem Lawan, in his submission on behalf of the state, said the people of Borno are opposed to the creation states and state police.
“Borno State is already devastated for now. We don’t need additional states and local government councils, because some of the councils just bear names without people. So, there is no need for the creation of state and local governments out of the present Borno State,” he said.
In a similar submission, Yobe State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Saleh Samanja, advocated the retention of the existing states and local councils’ structure.
“We recommend that the existing number of states and local governments in the country be maintained and strengthened taking into consideration that even the existing ones are not adequately funded, to execute viable developmental projects, not to even talk of creating additional ones,” he said.
However, Secretary to the Bauchi State Government (SSG), Alhaji Sabiu Baba, who spoke on behalf of his state, said they are clamouring for the creation of additional states and local councils.
He noted that some states with much lower population and land mass than Bauchi, already have more local government councils, which explains why the people of Bauchi are strongly in support of the creation of a state and additional local governments out of the present Bauchi State.
No doubt the argument on viability of most of the existing states cannot be wished away, but a chieftain of apex Igbo body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Chekwas Okorie, who spoke with New Telegraph, said the present political structure is what is impeding the states from harnessing their respective potentials.
His words: “There is no state in Nigeria that cannot be viable; the issue is that they have not been given the necessary latitude to explore and exploit their respective comparative advantages in order to grow. What we have is a political structure that makes it impossible for our governors not to even be creative in the area of generating revenue to run their states.
“Rather, they just sit down and wait for allocation from the Federal Government. That is why it looks as if some states are not viable. So, unviability of states is as a result of over concentration of power in the Federal Government and that is why everyone is talking about devolution of power.”
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, who also backed creation of new states, particularly made a case for the South-East to correct the current imbalance in the six geopolitical zones.
Speaking while receiving members of the Senate committee on constitution review, when they paid him a courtesy call at the government house, Port Harcourt, Wike said: “There is no way the South-East should continue to have only five states. It is very unfair. Since other regions have six states, South-East should be made to have six states.”
The arguments for and against the creation of new states, notwithstanding, whether the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government will yield to demands of the agitators of the new states in the face of dwindling revenue fortune would be determined in the days ahead, when both chambers of the National Assembly conclude their assignment on the constitution amendment process
