By Muhammed Nasiru Adejoh.
The Deputy Leader of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali Halims, has reacted to the recommendation of thirty one states creation by the House of Representatives constitution amendment committee.
Reading a letter from the committee on the floor of the house at today’s plenary, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu, who is also the chairman of the committee, said all necessary conditions must be met before the creation of any state.
According to the letter, there were requests for the creation of five states from the North Central; four from the North East, five from the North West, five from the South East, four from the South South and seven from the South West.
Okura State is prominent among the five from the North Central with two others; namely Okun and Confluence states proposed to be created out of the present Kogi State.
The House Deputy Leader expressed delight at the progress made so far by the various frontiers of new state creation and assured the dominantly Igala speaking people of Kogi East that Okura State is a common goal which he will not give himself any limitation to the age long aspiration for its actualisation.
Rep. Abdullahi Ibrahim Halims, who represents Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro Federal Constituency of Kogi State, had in June 2024, proposed a bill for an act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for the creation of Okura State out of Kogi State.
According to a media statement issued by Comrade Muhammed Nasiru Adejoh, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Rep. Halims, the bill when passed into law will bring the government closer to the people of Igala/Bassa land thereby creating an equitable distribution of the Nation’s resources.
While leading the debate last year, Rep. Halims revealed that the bill will provide a legal framework for inserting a new paragraph into the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria immediately after the Ondo State paragraph and before the Osun State paragraph to read State and Capital as Okura and Egume respectively while Ankpa, Bassa, Dekina, Ibaji, Idah, Igalamela/Odolu, Ofu, Olamaboro and Omala will be listed as Local Government Areas.
The states being considered include Okun State, Okura State, and Confluence State from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa States from Benue; FCT State; Amana State from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi State; Savannah State from Borno; and Muri State from Taraba.
They also include New Kaduna State and Gujarat State from Kaduna State; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi State; Etiti and Orashi as the 6th state in the Southeast; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba from the Southeast.
Others are Ogoja from Cross River, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos, and Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun, and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun states.
