The youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has rejected the proposal to create five additional states in the South-East, arguing that it would further deepen the region’s marginalization.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review proposed the creation of 31 new states across the country. If approved, Nigeria’s state structure would expand from 36 to 67, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Among the proposed states are Etiti, Orashi, Adada, Orlu, and Aba in the South-East, alongside others from different regions.
However, in a statement on Friday, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, National President of the Ohanaeze Youth Council Worldwide, described the proposal as unfair to the South-East.
He noted that while the Igbo have long decried being limited to five states, compared to other regions with six or seven, the new proposal still fails to bridge the gap.
“We were initially excited about the idea of state creation, but upon closer examination, it became evident that the South-East remains shortchanged. While other regions are gaining more states, our zone is only getting five, further entrenching the injustice we have suffered since 1999,” Okwu stated.
He insisted that true national unity could only be achieved if the South-East was first granted two additional states to match the six-state structure of other zones, followed by an equal distribution across all regions.
Okwu also criticized South-East lawmakers for allowing such an imbalanced proposal to be put forward, urging them to revisit the issue and correct the anomaly in the interest of justice and national cohesion.
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