Oluwole Oke, a member of the house of representatives, is proposing a bill to create three new states in the south-west geopolitical zone.
Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of
Osun state, chairs the house committee on judiciary.
The bill proposes to amend the first schedule, part I of the
constitution to create three new states — Oke-Ogun, Ijebu, and Ife-Ijesa
states.
The draft bill proposes that Oke-Ogun state, with Iseyin as
its proposed capital city, will comprise 12 LGAs.
According to the bill shared with TheCable by Oke, Ijebu
state, upon creation, will consist of nine LGAs with Ijebu Ode as its capital,
while Ife Ijesa state is set to be composed of 11 LGAs, with Ile-Ife as its
capital city.
The bill, addressed to the clerk of the house of
representatives and dated February 6, is expected to be listed for first
reading.
If the bill scales through and is passed into law, the
south-west will have the highest numbers of states among the six geopolitical
zones.
Nigeria currently has 36 states created during the military
era.
LEGISLATIVE HURDLES
The national assembly is currently amending the 1999
constitution.
In January, Benjamin Kalu, deputy speaker of the house of
representatives, said work on the amendment of the 1999 constitution would be
completed in December 2025.
Requirements for state creation and boundary adjustments are
among the most challenging provisions in a constitutional amendment process.
Section 8 (1) of the constitution stipulates that a new
state can only be created if it is 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”.
“(iii) And 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.
“(d) The proposal is approved by a resolution passed by
two-thirds majority of members of each House of the National Assembly.”
No state has been created since 1999 when the country
returned to democratic rule.
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