A bill to alter the 1999 Constitution as amended to create an additional state in the South-east geopolitical zone called Etiti has passed through its first reading in the House of Representatives.

Amobi Ogah (LP-Abia) and four others sponsored the bill, which was read by the clerk of the House of Representatives, Yahaya Dan’Zaria, during plenary in Abuja on Tuesday.

The co-sponsors of the bill included Miriam Onuoha (APC-Imo), Kama Nkemkama, Chinwe Nnabuife, and Anayo Onwuegbu.

The proposed state will include communities in the existing five states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

When created, the new state will have 11 local government areas, drawn from the five states, with headquarters at Lokpanta.

The bill seeks to alter three sections of the 1999 Constitution to delete the word 36 and replace it with the word 37.

This is to accommodate the new state and to insert the word Etiti immediately after Enugu in the list of states contained in the constitution.

The bill also sought to alter the listing of local governments according to states and transfer the 11 local government areas from their current states to the new state.

The local governments to be affected are Isuikwuato and Umu-Nneochi (Abia), Orumba North, and Orumba South (Anambra).

Others are Ivo and Ohaozara (Ebonyi), Aninri, Agwu, and Oji River (Enugu), as well as Okigwe and Onuimo (Imo).

Augustine2244:
Lol! Another mission impossible! The bill has scaled first reading and that's alright.
Scaling second reading is another matter entirely, because no Anambra community will agree to be part of the so called Etiti state.
Concerning the long proposed Anioma state, which Sen Nwoko recently made an advocacy for, even some Anioma communities have opposed it.
These people should forget about it because state creation ended with the military regime.

richie240:

To me I think d 5 states they have is still too much as they are scattered all over nigeria thereby stressing the scarce infrastructure in those states.

If I have my way, the 5 states should be compressed to (max) two, and the money saved thereby spread among their host states all over nigeria.

They want extra state but they are fleeing alaigbo in droves.

Zico5:
I don't see anything coming out of this jamboree. It's just a white elephant project. Where do they want to create state from that tiny region. These people don't really know what they want and everyone knows that.

thesicilian:
Etiti state. And they had to copy the name of a south Western state

hriwura:
What is etiti?

chopnaira:

Same way a lot of North Delta people don't want Anioma to be in the SE. Goes both ways.

Paraman:
The south east wants to have 7 state... I won't have mind sef if not that they will start mocking the south west and south south

IkeOnyia:
Ndi Igbo be coming together rather than breaking themselves up into tiny bits. State creation has created so much division among Igbos to the extent that someone from Ebonyi cannot be appointed or elected into any position in Imo and so on. Igbos now bash and judge each other on the basis of statehood. Ebonyi people are seen as primitive, Imo girls are labelled prostitutes, Anambra men are tagged arrogant, Enugu people are called derogatory names like wawa and Abians are seen as flesh eaters. Discrimination is the only thing that state creation has brought to Igbos, there are no benefits whatsoever.

Revealpanda:


Stop dragging South South to your nonsense.

South East never mocks south South

We know our enemy and it's not even the Northerners

flokii:
The Igbo Reps in NASS are not pushing for referendum for biafra but are busy pushing for another dot state that will be the size of one estate in Niger State.
No offence meant but I feel SE shouldn't have more than 3 States considering the size. Niger State should start pushing for creation of 5 more States to properly capture their interest and that of NC in Nigeria.
We'll still get to 47 States, not 37. E sure me say Northerners go create additional 2 States each for NE, NW and NC.

Okoroawusa:
I don't really care about state creation because the ones created can barely take care of themselves but Orlu State makes more sense than this Etiti State

Bulldozer90:
They have to feed themselves first. considering their GDP Niger is not viable to be a state. It should be merged with Kogi.

flokii:


A State that is twice the size of the entire SE region combined, if not more sef should be merged with another?.. you must be joking.

You ought to be giving the people there kudos for suffering in silence when SE that isn't as big as their State is getting x5 of Niger State allowance.

Paraman:
The south east wants to have 7 state... I won't have mind sef if not that they will start mocking the south west and south south

PressMyButton:
Anioma will never leave SS for anything.

thesicilian:
Etiti state. And they had to copy the name of a south Western state

flokii:
The Igbo Reps in NASS are not pushing for referendum for biafra but are busy pushing for another dot state that will be the size of one estate in Niger State.
No offence meant but I feel SE shouldn't have more than 3 States considering the size. Niger State should start pushing for creation of 5 more States to properly capture their interest and that of NC in Nigeria.
We'll still get to 47 States, not 37. E sure me say Northerners go create additional 2 States each for NE, NW and NC.

Revealpanda:


Stop dragging South South to your nonsense.

South East never mocks south South

We know our enemy and it's not even the Northerners

flokii:


A State that is twice the size of the entire SE region combined, if not more sef should be merged with another?.. you must be joking.

You ought to be giving the people there kudos for suffering in silence when SE that isn't as big as their State is getting x5 of Niger State allowance.