A bill seeking the creation of a coastal state out of the present Ondo State scaled its first reading at the Senate on Wednesday.
The bill sponsored by Jimoh Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District, is seeking a constitutional amendment to allow creation of a coastal state from Ondo State.
BusinessDay reports that Ibrahim sought for the creation of the coastal state to allow speedy development of the riverine communities in the Southern Senatorial District of Ondo State.
The senator expressed optimism that the bill would sail through the second and third reading when presented in the next sitting of the Upper Chamber.
This proposal adds to the growing list of bills in the National Assembly seeking the creation of new states across Nigeria.
In the Senate, another notable proposal is the bill sponsored by Senator Kawu Suleiman Abdurrahman, representing Kano South Senatorial District. The bill seeks to create Tiga State from the current Kano State. Titled the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (Creation of Tiga State) Bill, 2024,” it aims to amend relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution to accommodate the new state.
Similarly, a bill proposing the creation of Anioma State in the South-East, has also passed its first reading, and was sponsored by Ned Nwoko, the Senator representing Delta North.
Nwoko’s bill seeks to amend three sections of the 1999 Constitution to replace the word “36” with “37” to accommodate the new state and adding “Anioma” immediately after “Delta” in the list of states.
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.
Also in the Lower Chamber, five members from the South-East have proposed the creation of Etiti State to be carved out of the present Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states.
The bill seeks to alter Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution by replacing 36 states with 37 states. The proposed state will have 11 local government areas drawn from the five states with the capital to be located at Lokpanta.
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.
There is also a bill seeking the creation of Orlu State to be carved out of Imo, Abia, and Anambra states, which passed the first reading in the Green Chamber.
It is sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere, lawmaker representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, and others.
