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Abbas Yushau Yusuf

Last week the Nigerian House of Representatives during its plenary session told the nation that it received the proposal for the creation of more states numbering thirty-one.

Currently, Nigeria has a 36-state structure and if the proposed thirty-one are added the states will be 67. Nigeria started with three regions and has been restructured by the military and for over 64 years the agitation did not die down.

On February 5th, 2025 the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution announced on Thursday, that it has received 31 proposals for the creation of new states across the six geopolitical zones.

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu read a letter from the committee during plenary, outlining the conditions that must be met before any state creation requests can be approved.

According to the letter, the proposals include five from the North Central, four from the North East, five from the North West, five from the South East, four from the South-South, and seven from the South West.

Among the states being considered are Okun, Okura, and Confluence (Kogi); Benue Ala and Apa (Benue); FCT State; Amana (Adamawa); Katagum (Bauchi); Savannah (Borno); and Muri (Taraba).

The states also include New Kaduna state and Gujarat states from Kaduna state; Tiga and Ari from Kano, and Kainji from Kebbi state; Etiti and Orashi as the 6th state in the South East, Adada from Enugu, Orlu, and Aba from the South East.

They also include Ogoja from Cross River, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers; Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos, and Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun, Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun states.

According to the letter, Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution as amended outlines specific requirements that must be fulfilled to initiate the process of state creation.

The letter said “a request to the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if a request supported by at least the third majority of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives and the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council in respect of the area, is received by the National Assembly.

But in an exclusive interview with a renowned Nigerian Political Scientist with Kano state college of Arts and Science, CAS Kano
Dr. Kabiru Saidu Sufi and a traditional title holder of Marafan Dambatta said unless there is consensus it will be an exercise in futility.

“I think like you rightly said states have become a recurring issue in Nigerian politics overtime there have been this agitation, the more states you create the more agitation, you are likely going to have from all quarters and this one is not a new one, and there have been the debate of whether the creation of states will be beneficial or not. The proponents in practice and in theory believe if you create more states, you are creating more avenues to which you will bring government closer to the people, because as it is the size of some of the states is so large and they believe that if some of these states are broken down they will bring government closer to the people, and there is also the issue of administrative efficiency and you know some people that believe if you create more states these states are more viable and you will have more administrative efficiency and thirdly there are those who believe these states are serving as a future training ground for national leaders, so they will go to the federal level and they say most of them start from the states, so some people believe that the more states you have the more training ground you are creating, for future leaders so, then on the other hand there are those people who believe the creator of states is detrimental to political development, for example they believe you are further disuniting people than uniting them, the more states you have the more divided Nigerians are, so there are those who believe we should have few states and they say let’s even go back to the regions, so that Nigerians will have more sense of unity, and some see the states as an avenue where money is being spent, rather than saving which they say we are creating avenues for spending more money than saving, and when you spend more money is not, and there are those that see the more you create the states the more you are bringing further agitations, and there is even this debate whether it’s possible to even create states under civilian dispensation especially taking into consideration the fact that in the past all states were created during the military regime and so there is this issue of constitutional procedure of creating more states, which is not an easy exercise in which Section 19 has laid down procedures which you can amend the constitution for which you can create states and amend borders and this is a very conversant process ranging from getting the two third majority in the two federal chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives and then the two third majority of the 36 states houses of assembly and in some cases there are serious issues, and there is also involvement of getting the four fifth of the states Houses of Assembly and no matter one will look at it and see that it is not an easy exercise and is something that requires a very rigorous procedure and that may not necessarily be easy to satisfy and in that regard one can say is an exercise in futility and no matter the agitation at the end of the day it does not become a reality and the only way we can make it a reality is to have a lead consensus and when the leadership of the country agree to the desirability of the creation of the states then probably they will find a way of making it easier and when there is no lead consensus you find it to be an exercise in futility.”