Rita Odafe
New State Proposals Found Lacking Constitutional Criteria
Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, announced that all 30 proposals for new states currently under consideration have failed to meet the constitutional standards outlined in Section 8.
In a statement from his media office on Friday, Kalu emphasized that the parliament has not adopted an official stance regarding these proposals.
He pointed out that the Constitution mandates a two-thirds majority support from the Senate, the House of Representatives, state assemblies, and local governments for the establishment of a new state.
Kalu reassured that the National Assembly aims to adhere to these regulations and is encouraging applicants to revise and resubmit their proposals after aligning with the constitutional criteria.
He stated: “We represent the people’s parliament. We are not committing to any position on the proposal for new states. Many different perspectives have circulated regarding the issue.”
“To clarify further, during the Ninth Assembly, numerous state creation requests were received, some initiated by private member bills, along with others resulting from public memoranda. In this Tenth Assembly, we have properly received 30 proposals, not 31, as one was duplicated—Ibadan State was counted twice.”
“As it stands, none of these 30 proposals have satisfied the Section 8 requirements, prompting us to inform Nigerians that the applications submitted are ineffective.”
“Therefore, we urge those who submitted to comply with Section 8 so that anyone questioning the rejection of state creation requests understands the basis for it.”
“Our public notice is that you have until March 5 to address the shortcomings in your state creation applications.”
