The House of Representatives has passed four bills seeking to create new states, including Ijebu, Orlu, Oke-Ogun, Ife-Ijesa, Tiga, and Etiti States to the second reading stage.
Persecondnews reports that the bills, part of an ongoing constitutional amendment exercise by the 10th Assembly, were presented during plenary on Wednesday by the House Leader, Rep. (Prof.) Julius Ihonvbere, and seconded by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda.
The proposed states are Ijebu, Oke-Ogun, Ife-Ijesa, Tiga, Orlu, and Etiti.
The bill proposing Ijebu State aims to carve out the Ijebu and Remo regions from Ogun State.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Oluwole Oke, was introduced as “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) by amending Part 1 of the First Schedule, and Creating Additional Three States—Oke-Ogun State, IJebu State and Ife-Ijesa State—and for Related Matters (HB. 1098).”
Similarly, a bill to create Tiga State from Kano State, with Rano as its capital, was sponsored by Rep. Ghali Mustapha Tijani under HB.1308.
For the South-East region, Rep. Ikweagwuonu Ugochinyere sponsored HB.1430 for the creation of Orlu State, while Rep. George Ibezimako Ozodinobi proposed HB.1998 for the formation of Etiti State, with Okigwe as its capital.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary, put the bills to a voice vote, after which they were passed and referred to the House Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative action.
In addition to these state creation bills, the House also passed 38 other constitution alteration bills, bringing the total number of proposed amendments to 42.
These bills seek to modify various aspects of the 1999 Constitution, including governance structure and electoral processes.
The legislative process for state creation remains extensive, requiring approval by the National Assembly, endorsement from the majority of state legislatures, and a national referendum before final ratification.
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