Tinubu Will Assent to Additional States for South East – Ogah

Comrade Chinedu Ogah

From Nabob Ogbonna, Abakaliki

A member of the House of Representatives representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency, Comrade Chinedu Ogah, has assured the people of the South East region that the longstanding demand for the creation of additional states in the zone will be realized under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

He clarified that the ongoing agitation for state creation in the region has already been submitted to the National Assembly and is currently awaiting further legislative action.

Ogah said that this is a constitutional right, given the historical neglect and marginalization the region has endured.

Ogah made this known on Tuesday while addressing journalists at his residence in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, during a discussion on the ongoing constitutional review at the National Assembly.

He explained that the move would help address the issue of state equality in the country, insisting that the South East possesses the economic capacity, human resources, and geographical viability to justify the creation of additional states.

“Lawmakers from the South East have proposed one state to be carved out from parts of Enugu, Ebonyi, and Anambra to be called Adada State. Meanwhile, lawmakers from Imo and Abia have proposed another state, making it two in total. These proposals were submitted by both the Senate and the House of Representatives members from the South East,”

“We have passed the first and second readings, followed by a public hearing. After that, the committee will compile and finalize its report, which will then be presented to the National Assembly for the third reading.”

“Once it passes the third reading, it will be concurred by the Senate and transmitted to the President for assent. This time, it will come to fulfillment because it is a constitutional matter.”he stated.

Ogah reiterated the imbalance in the current state structure across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.

“The South East is clearly marginalized. Each of the other zones has six states, and some have seven. It is a constitutional right for the South East to have additional states. We have the land, the economic strength, the manpower, and everything required to support the creation of at least two more states,” he added.

Comrade Ogah is also a member of the Constitutional Review Committee and serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Public Hearing, Zone ‘A’.