A federal lawmaker has reacted to the proposals for the creation of 31 more states in Nigeria received at the House of RepresentativesHe cited two major reasons the proposals may not be given due consideration by the green chamberThe lawmaker spoke days after the Kayode Okikiolu, a veteran journalist, shared how Nigeria’s map would look should the proposal scale through the National Assembly
Henzodaily.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
A top principal officer of the National Assembly has described the proposals for the creation of 31 new states as dead on arrival.
Lawmaker speaks on proposals for creation of 31 new states.
Source: Facebook
New states: Why proposal may not be considered
According to the lawmaker, the proposals for the creation of 31 new states submitted to the House of Representatives, are effectively dead even before consideration.
The principal officer of the house insisted that none of the proposals adhered to the laid-down constitutional procedures and can, therefore, not progress to the next stage.
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Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house and chairman of the constitution review committee, had announced during plenary on February 6, that the green chamber had received the proposals but said they “should be re-submitted in strict adherence” to constitutional stipulations by March 5, 2025.
Henzodaily.ng earlier reported that the National Assembly’s recent moves to create new states in the country may be the wrong step for Nigeria in the face of economic challenges.
However, a lawmaker, in an interview with The Cable, said the proposals are dead on arrival.
According to reports, none of the proposals added the “proof of support” required by the constitution, which is the signatures of two-thirds of serving legislators, both national and state, from the areas to be affected by state creation.
The lawmaker said:
“The starting point, according to the requirements for the creation of states as contained in section 8(1)(a) of the constitution, is the collection of signatures from at least two-thirds of the elected representatives of the affected areas in both chambers of the national assembly and the state houses of assembly. None of this was done. That kills the proposals.”
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“The proposals were submitted by public memoranda and private members’ bills and that was what the clerk of the committee communicated to the house. The deputy speaker read the letter and drew attention to the procedural anomaly, but many media outlets reported it wrongly, saying the house had created 31 new states.”
State creation: Proposals, a shabby job says lawmaker
Buttressing his point, the lawmaker shared concerns and wondered why the local government areas that will constitute the proposed entity, was not given due consideration in the proposal.
“In some instances, people just submitted memorandum for the creation of a particular state without listing the local government areas that will constitute the proposed entity. It was basically a shabby job,” the lawmaker said.
“The process is not as simple as just sending a memorandum to the committee.”
Read more about state creation here:
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How Nigeria’s map will look if proposed 31 new states are approved, video trends
Full list: How 36 Nigerian states were created
Meanwhile, Henzodaily.ng reported that the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives recently begun the debate to create new states in Nigeria.
Historically, all the states created in Nigeria were founded during the military regime, and it would be a success for the 10th National Assembly if it created one.
The list of the states created by the military has been compiled, including their years of establishment and how they were created.
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Source: Henzodaily.ng