Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State called for the creation of at least two additional states in the South-east, explaining that the move would help achieve regional balance.
Mr Uzodinma, in a post via his X handle on Saturday, said he made the call while speaking in Owerri at the ongoing public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
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“Top on my address was the call for the creation of two additional States in the South-east.
“This, I believe, is a matter of equity and a necessary step towards accelerating development in the region,” he wrote.
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“I emphasised the strategic consideration of at least one new state falling within the oil-producing axis to facilitate access to developmental resources and infrastructure.”
Rotational presidency, state police
Mr Uzodinma also proposed that the rotation of the presidency among the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria should be integrated into the constitution.
“For lasting political balance, I proposed that the six geopolitical zones be constitutionally recognised in the zoning of the presidency, replacing the current North-South arrangement.
“This will foster national inclusion and ease political tensions during presidential elections,” he said.
The governor also stressed the need to create state police, which he said would help “to address localised security threats and better safeguard citizens.”
“I also advocated for a reinstatement of a vital democratic tradition, one practised in our early Republics, whereby any Nigerian born in a state or who has lived there for over 10 years, with good conduct, should be granted indigene status and its attendant benefits,” he argued.
Background
South-east leaders have been demanding an additional state in the region.
At present, there are 36 states in Nigeria.
While the North-west geo-political zone has seven states, the North-east, North-central, 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.
Also, the South-east has repeatedly canvassed a rotational presidency to allow the region to produce the country’s president for the first time.
Ahead of the 2023 general election, the Igbo-speaking people of the South-east had consistently asked to be allowed to take a shot at the presidency.
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After two dominant political parties in the country – APC and the PDP – failed to zone their presidential tickets to the region, hope was rekindled when Peter Obi emerged as a presidential candidate of the Labour Party ahead of the 2023 poll.
However, Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, only came third in the presidential election won by Bola Tinubu of the APC.
Although Mr Obi was not only the presidential candidate from the South-east at the time, he was perceived as a stronger candidate through whom the Igbo presidency ambition could be realised.
