Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has denied opposing the creation of an additional state in the South-east.
In a statement on Sunday by his media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Mr Otti said some persons circulated a post which gave a false impression of his recent comment on state creation in Nigeria.
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The governor said the post falsely gave the impression that he opposed the creation of an additional state in the region.
One additional state in the South-east
Reacting in the Sunday statement, Mr Otti explained that his position is that the South-east, which has five states, unlike others, should be given one additional state to achieve regional balance, but not the creation of new states across all the regions.
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“In his seminal works over the years, he had advocated a six-regional structure for the country, which would support his advocacy for reducing the cost of governance,” the statement read in part.
The governor argued that Nigeria doesn’t require additional states, especially when “most of the already existing states lack the viability for economic self-sustainability.”
He contended that public office holders must not have additional states before making impacts, citing past South-east leaders such as Michael Okpara and Sam Mbakwe, whom he said made “generational impacts” without additional states
“They governed a region and a state respectively that were massive both in landmass and population, and yet achieved development and created prosperity that are still being referenced till today,” Mr Otti said.
He added: “Creating additional States in Nigeria when the economic super-structure that should sustain the already existing but troubled ones hasn’t been laid, is akin to intentionally laying the foundation for further division and dichotomy that could impact our body polity negatively, especially at a time we should be saddled with the responsibility of trying to navigate through our economic challenges as a nation.”
The governor enjoined Nigerian lawmakers and leaders involved in the ongoing discussion for the creation of additional states to guard against selfish interests.
“(This is) because they (selfish interests) are usually temporary and do not advance the long-term interest and welfare of the majority of the citizens,” he stated.
Background
South-east leaders have been demanding an additional state in the region.
At present, there are 36 states in Nigeria.
READ ALSO: Constitution Review: INC proposes creation of two additional Ijaw states
While the North-west geo-political zone has seven states, the North-east, North-central, North-east, South-south and South-west have six states each. Only the South-east has five states.
Meanwhile, at the moment, Nigeria’s National Assembly is currently considering bills for the creation of 31 new states in the country. The South-east, like others, has five such bills.
Although state creation bills are frequently introduced in the National Assembly, no civilian government has created a new state in Nigeria.
The states in the country were all created by different military administrations.
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