The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, in its reaction to an additional 31 states in the country, declared that the South-East should be allocated more states to address “the wrongs that had been done to the region on state creation.”
The demand by Ohanaeze follows the proposal for the creation of new states by the House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives proposes Etiti and Orashi as the sixth states in the South-East; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba.
Speaking on the proposal, Ohanaeze’s National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, stated, “It is unfortunate that such a bill is also aimed at suppressing the South-East as usual. It is completely unacceptable that the Southeast should be appropriated only five states.
“South-East, all this while, is the only zone in the Federal Republic of Nigeria that has the least number of states, irrespective of our population and our contributions to both the economy and the infrastructural development of the nation.
“So, giving southeast such a small number of five states in this bill when others that already have advantages were orchestrated by successive governments before now is quite unacceptable, and unfortunately, it is above all antithetical to the commonwealth of the South-Easterners and the so-called equity we are preaching in the country.”
Ohanaeze added, “The Southeast deserves more states more than any other zone in the country because the Southeast is the only zone that has been short-changed over the years by successive governments. So, if justice and equity should prevail, the southeast must be given the highest number of states.
“So, if the federal government fails to correct the wrongs that have been done to the South-East over the years, this is the time to at least give this equation some terms of balance by appropriating more states to the South-East to make up with the other geopolitical zones.”
Full list:
NORTH-CENTRAL
1. BENUE ALA STATE from the present Benue State.
2. OKUN STATE from the present Kogi State
3. OKURA STATE from the present Kogi State
4. CONFLUENCE STATE from the present Kogi State
5. APA-AGBA STATE from Benue South Senatorial District
6. APA STATE from the present Benue State.
7. A 37th state, namely FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA
NORTH-EAST
8. AMANA STATE from the present Adamawa State.
9. KATAGUM STATE from the present Bauchi State.
10. SAVANNAH STATE from the present Borno State.
11.MURI STATE from the present Taraba State.
NORTH-WEST
12. NEW KADUNA STATE and GURARA STATE from the present Kaduna State.
13. TIGA STATE from the present Kano State.
14. KAINJI STATE from the present Kebbi State.
15. GHARI STATE from the present Kano State
SOUTH-EAST
16. ETITI STATE as the sixth (6th) state in the South East geopolitical zone.
17. ADADA STATE from the present Enugu State of Nigeria.
18. URASHI STATE as the sixth (6th) state in the South East geopolitical zone.
19. ORLU STATE from the South Eastern Region of Nigeria.
20. ABA STATE from the South Eastern Region of Nigeria.
SOUTH-SOUTH
21. OGOJA STATE from the present Cross River State.
22. WARRI STATE from the present Delta State.
23. BORI STATE from the present Rivers State
24. OBOLO STATE from the present Rivers and Akwa Ibom States.
SOUTH-WEST
25. TORU-EBE STATE from the present Delta, Edo, and Ondo States.
26. IBADAN STATE from the present Oyo State.
27. LAGOON STATE from the present Lagos State.
28. IJEBU STATE from the present Ogun State.
29. LAGOON STATE from the present Lagos State and Ogun State
30. IBADAN STATE from the present Oyo State.
31. OKE-OGUN and IFE-IJESHA STATES from the Present-day Ogun, Oyo, and Osun states.