The National Conference on
Thursday voted for the creation of 18 more states in the country. The creation
of new states was one of the decisions taken by the delegates at their plenary
while considering the report of the Committee on Political Restructuring and
Forms of Government.
Apart from the 18 new states
proposed, the conference said a separate state-yet-to-be named should be carved
out of the South-East to bring the number of the states in the zone to six.
In creating a new state from the
South-East geopolitical zone, the conference said the creation would correct
the imbalance of the zone having the least number of states.
In the existing 36 states
arrangement, each zone has six states with only the North-West having seven
states.
The new states proposed by the
conference are: Aba, to be carved out of the present Abia State; Katagum, from
Bauchi State; Ijebu, from Ogun State; Amana, from former Sardauna Province;
Apa, from Benue State; Anioma, from Delta State, Savannah, from Borno State;
and Etiti, from South-East.
Others are Njaba/Anim, from
Anambra and Imo states; Gurara, from Kaduna State; Ghari, from Kano State;
Adada, New Oyo from Oyo State; Orachi, from Rivers State; Ogoja, from Cross
River State; and Kainji, from Kebbi and Niger states.
Two other states, one each from
the South-East and South-West zones, are also yet to be named.
It was agreed by the delegates
that the 18 new states would be shared among the six zones in a manner that no
zone would have more states than the other.
Though it was also agreed that
states were free to have their constitutions, the request to change the name of
Adamawa State to Gongola State was overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates.
The delegates also voted that the
Presidency should rotate among the six geopolitical zones of the country.
However, a delegate, Mr. Femi
Falana, SAN, condemned the decision to create more states.
He said the action was at
variance with the decisions and resolutions earlier taken by the conference on
the need by government to cut cost.
“Having regard to the several
resolutions of the National Conference on the need to reduce the cost of
governance, I found the recommendation for the creation of additional 18 states
rather contradictory,” Falana said.
