Constitution Amendment…CSOs Tackle NASS Over Push For 10 More States

They advised that since most of the existing states were unviable and still underdeveloped, the legislature and the executive should focus on promoting good governance at all levels and ensuring autonomy for local governments

against the backdrop of the growing number of bills which before the National Assembly, seeking the creation of new states.
The latest of such proposed legislations is a bill seeking the creation of Coastal State out of the present

Ondo State which passed its first reading in the Senate on Wednesday.

Sponsored by the senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Jimoh Ibrahim, the bill intends to amend the constitution to allow the creation of Coastal State from Ondo State.
There is also a bill which proposed the creation of Tiga State from the current Kano State sponsored by the lawmaker representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kawu Suleiman Abdurrahman.

Again, in the Senate there are bills for the creation of Adada State, sponsored by Senator Okey Ezea (LP, Enugu North) and Anioma State sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (PDP, Delta North) which have both passed first reading.

In the House of Representatives, bills to create Etiti State out of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states as well as Okura State out of Kogi State had passed second reading and referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review chaired by the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, for further legislative actions.

Also, the House passed for first reading, a bill for the creation of Orlu State, in South-East Nigeria, sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere and 10 others.

Furthermore, the House passed through first reading and had slated for second reading a bill for an Act to amend the Constitution to provide for the creation of Oke-Ogun State with Saki as the proposed capital city, sponsored by Hon Kareem Tajudeen Abisodun.

Similarly, the House received a bill proposing the creation of three states, namely Ijebu, Oke-Ogun (also in the other bill) and Ife Ijesa states in the South-west region, sponsored by Hon Oluwole Oke.

Since Independence in 1960, Nigeria has evolved from a four-regional structure to 12 states, which were increased to 19 and later 21. The states were again increased to the present 36 states. Apart from the regional government, all the other states were created by the military.

If the current exercise succeeds, Nigeria will have a 46-state structure and the first 10 states to be created under a civil rule.

While these bills seek amendment of relevant Sections of the 1999 Constitution to accommodate the new states, the ground-norm on the other hand provides for a complex process to state creation.

Section 8 (1) of the Constitution provides that, an Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if:
“(a) a request, supported by at least two-thirds majority of members (representing the area demanding the creation of the new state) in each of the following, namely –
(i) the Senate and the House of Representatives,
(ii) the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and
(iii) the local government councils in respect of the area, is received by the National Assembly.
“(b) a proposal for the creation of the state is thereafter approved in a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of the people of the area where the demand for creation of the state originated.
“(c) the result of the referendum is then approved by a simple majority of all the states of the federation supported by a simple majority of members of the Houses of Assembly; and
“(d) the proposal is approved by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of members of each House of the National Assembly.”

The sponsors of these bills, especially those which had been debated (passed second reading) argued that the proposed states were economically viable and can foster development as well as unity and peace.
For instance, the lead sponsor of the bill for Etiti State, Hon Amobi Ogah (LP, Abia) had argued that the creation of the state was not just a matter of administrative convenience but a step towards ensuring balanced regional development and effective governance.

“The creation of Etiti State will facilitate more targeted development initiatives, better resource allocation, and improved service delivery to the people. As we deliberate on this historic bill, let us remain guided by the imperative of fairness, efficiency, and progress.

“The creation of Etiti State represents a unique opportunity to strengthen our federal structure, empower our communities, and foster national unity,” he said.

But, the executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal-Ibrahim Musa-Rafsanjani, said those agitating for the creation of additional states have failed to come up with the proposal on how to boost the economy, how to make those sub-nationals sustainable, financially, economically and developmentally.

Musa-Rafsanjani said the politicians agitating for those states just discovered that the easiest way for them to “loot the resources in the country was when they have these bogus states and local governments where they will just keep siphoning public money without accountability.

“As you can see now, hardly you can see accountability at the state level because the legislature at the state level has been captured and emasculated by the state governors. Therefore, the state governors decide and do whatever they want to do with the public money. So, that has encouraged more people to demand for such kind of reckless and irresponsible squandering of public resources.

“So, this is the only agenda; it is not about development.
“If it is about development, they should come out with a blueprint on how their states can be viable economically. Even presently, what is it that they have done to show that they are actually capable of helping to raise the deplorable state of present states from lack of infrastructure, lack of development plan, lack of industrialisation, lack of social amenities, lack of healthcare system and education?
“All these are absent even currently in many of the states. So, what is it that they have come up with to give justification that these states should be if they are created.”

Also, the executive director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said creation of additional states must address the concerns over economic viability and maximisation of resources.
Itodo maintained that while it could appear reasonable for a region like the Southeast, which has less number of states, to demand for an additional one, that was not sufficient enough to create more states when those in existence were not viable.

He said, “We need to ask ourselves if the 36 states we have in the country are economically viable. And those are the kinds of conversations we should have. How do we make those states more functional?
“I think that for people who are advocating for more states, especially regions like the southeast, we need to create that balance because it has an impact on how a nation allocates its resources and distributing those resources across the states.

“State creation, perhaps should be the second thing; let’s deal with the question of our local government structure, decentralise and devolve but also ensure that if a particular region is disadvantaged like the southeast region, they should have at least one state to actually create that balance.”

For the executive director, Citizens Participation Against Corruption Initiative, Bishir Sabuwar, the creation of states or local governments was not the solution to Nigeria’s challenges as a nation.

“The problem is that when you look at it deeply, creation of state or local government is not the solution to our challenges as a nation…To me, this is not appropriate,” he stressed.

A poet and social commentator, Chiedu Okoye in a recent opinion piece argued that: “state creation will, no doubt, lead to increase in the number of National Assembly members, which will jerk up the cost of governance in Nigeria. At present, Nigerian lawmakers receive humongous wages compared to their counterparts in other countries.

“Reducing the cost of governance in Nigeria is the clarion call of well-meaning Nigerians. Our leaders should execute deeds that will better the lot of the hoi polloi instead of carrying out policy actions that will stall our national development.

“So, the stark fact is that the proponents of creation of new states in Nigeria want fiefdoms or political empires over which they will preside in order for them to have the opportunity to loot our public exchequer. State governors are being accused of seizing financial allocations meant for local governments.

“Now, it should be obvious to all right thinking and patriotic Nigerians that the proponents of creation of new states in Nigeria are egoistical and unpatriotic politicians, who are seized with the feelings of insularity and clannishness. They want political empires over which they will preside in order for them to have unhindered access to the public treasury.”