The Senate, on Tuesday, passed for first reading bills seeking to create two additional South-East states to increase states in the region to seven.

This was as a bill seeking the creation of Etiti State in the South-East geo-political zone was read for the first time on the floor of the House of Representatives during plenary on Tuesday.

The development comes about three weeks after another bill seeking the creation of Orlu State out of Imo, Abia, and Anambra states similarly passed the first reading on June 6.

The states proposed separately by Senators Ned Nwoko (PDP, Delta North) and Okechukwu Ezea (LP, Enugu North) are the Anioma and Adada states, respectively.

Nwoko’s bill seeks to alter three sections of the 1999 Constitution, to delete the word 36 and replace it with the word 37 to accommodate the new state and to insert the word Anioma, immediately after Delta in the list of states contained in the Constitution.

The proposed Anioma State would encompass the local government areas of Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North-East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South, and Ukwuani, with Asaba designated as the state capital.

The Delta Senator added, “I am presenting a bill for the creation of Anioma State to correct this historical oversight. Anioma is composed of nine local government areas, six of which are rich in oil and gas resources.

“The region also boasts significant human capital, making it a viable and sustainable candidate for statehood. Creating Anioma state is not just about increasing the number of states; it is about ensuring fair representation and resource allocation for the South East.”

In the House of Representatives, five members of from the South-East, proposed the creation of Etiti State to be carved out of the present Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.

It will have 11 local government areas drawn from the five states with the capital to be located at Lokpanta.

The sponsors of the bill are Amobi Ogah, Miriam Onuoha, Kama Nkemkama, Chinwe Nnabuife and Anayo Onwuegbu.

They want an alteration of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, by replacing 36 states with 37 states.

The bill also seeks to alter the listing of local government areas according to states and transfer the 11 local government areas from their current states to the proposed Etiti State.

The local governments to be affected if the state is created are Isuikwuato and Umu-Nneochi (Abia), Orumba North and Orumba South (Anambra), Ivo and Ohaozara (Ebonyi), Aninri, Awgu and Oji River (Enugu) as well as Okigwe and Onuimo (Imo).

The bill comes about three weeks after one seeking the creation of Orlu State to be carved out of Imo, Abia, and Anambra states, passed the first reading in the House of Representatives on June 6.

The bill was sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, and others.

The bill also seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution by inserting a new paragraph, which will include 28 local government areas, namely Orlu, Orsu, Oru West, Oru East, Ideato North, Ideato South, Njaba, Nkwerre, Nwangele, Isu, Oguta, Ohaji Egbema, Onuimo, Ihiala, Uga, Ihiala, Uli, Ozubulu, Akokwa, Arondizuogu, Umuchu, Umunze, Umuaku, New Ideato North, Nwabosi West, Nwabosi East, Owerre Nkworji, Alaoma, Amaifeke, and Owerrebiri Umuowa.

Ugochinyere, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, appealed to his colleagues at the National Assembly to support the bill to ensure its passage through a second reading.

He stated that the creation of Orlu State would lead to the emergence of Ideato as a senatorial district. In the current political configuration, the North-West comprises seven states while the North-East, North-Central, South-South and South-West consist of six states each. Only the South-East has five states.

However, the South-West is seeking the creation of Oke-Ogun State, which, when created, would bring it at par with the North-West. (The PUNCH)

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