The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has proposed the creation of six new states across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.
The proposal, one of the key resolutions from a two-day retreat held in Lagos and co-chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, followed the consideration of 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustment requests, and 278 local government creation proposals.
If approved, the new states would increase Nigeria’s total from 36 to 42, with one additional state to be created in each of the six geopolitical zones — Northwest, Northeast, Northcentral, Southwest, Southsouth, and Southeast.
This would leave the Southsouth and Southwest with seven states each, the Southeast with six, the Northwest with eight, and both the Northeast and Northcentral with seven states apiece.
According to a principal officer of the committee, the resolution on state creation was unanimously supported by lawmakers from both chambers “in the spirit of fairness and equity.”
To determine the areas from which the new states will be carved, a sub-committee chaired by Senate Chief Whip Mohammed Tahir Monguno has been constituted.
A member of the sub-committee from the Northwest confirmed that the team would “meticulously review the 55 requests for state creation to identify the most viable areas,” assuring fairness to all proponents.
The committee’s report is expected to be presented to both chambers of the National Assembly in the first week of November.
State creation in Nigeria requires a constitutional amendment — needing approval by two-thirds of both the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly.
In recent months, pressure for new states has intensified nationwide. Agitations include the proposed Anioma State from Delta North to become the Southeast’s sixth state and calls for Ibadan State, raised publicly before President Bola Tinubu during the coronation of Oba Rashidi Ladoja as the 44th Olubadan
