The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has endorsed the creation of six additional states across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
The decision was reached at the end of a two-day retreat held in Lagos, co-chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.
According to reports from the retreat, the committee reviewed 69 constitutional amendment bills, including 55 requests for new states, two for boundary adjustments, and 278 proposals for the creation of local governments.
After extensive deliberations on the state creation requests, the joint committee resolved that one new state should be established in each of the six geopolitical zones — North West, North East, North Central, South West, South South, and South East.
If approved by both chambers of the National Assembly, the development will increase Nigeria’s number of states from 36 to 42. With this adjustment, the South South and South West will each have seven states, the South East six, the North West eight, the North East seven, and the North Central seven.
The resolution, described as a move towards fairness and national balance, will form part of the final report to be presented to both chambers of the National Assembly in early November.
To ensure equitable implementation, a subcommittee has been set up to determine the specific areas from which the six new states will be carved. The committee is chaired by Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Chief Whip of the Senate.
A member of the subcommittee from the North West stated that all 55 pending state creation requests would be carefully reviewed to determine the most suitable regions for the new states. The member assured that the process would be guided by fairness, transparency, and national interest.
