Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, who represents Abia North in the National Assembly, has voiced his strong support for the creation of Anioma State as the sixth state for Nigeria’s Southeast geopolitical zone. This call, made during a recent appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, has sparked renewed discussions on the longstanding demand for an additional state in the Southeast.
Currently, the South-East is the only region in Nigeria with just five states, unlike the other geopolitical zones, which have six or more. The region’s political leaders have long advocated for the creation of an additional state to address what they perceive as their zone’s marginalisation in terms of resources and political representation. Senator Kalu’s endorsement of Anioma State is seen as a significant step in supporting this cause.
Senator Kalu, who served as the governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007, argued that creating Anioma State from the present Delta State would be an essential move towards balancing the state distribution across Nigeria. “Of course, Anioma State should be created as the sixth Southeast state. It’s the only state that will be viable to be created,” Kalu remarked during the television interview.
He went on to highlight that the people of Anioma, who are primarily of Igbo descent, have always identified as Igbos. “Anioma are Igbos and they never said they are not Igbos. The sixth South-East state should be created, and it should be from Anioma,” Kalu stated, reinforcing the importance of giving the Southeast the same representation as other regions in the country.
The call for the creation of Anioma State is not new, but Senator Kalu’s backing adds weight to the proposal, which has gained increasing traction in recent years. He believes that creating the new state will help to alleviate the frustrations many people in the South-East feel about being underrepresented politically and economically.
The proposal for Anioma State has been championed by Senator Ned Nwoko, the representative of Delta North in the Senate. Senator Nwoko has repeatedly called for the creation of the state, describing it as a “correction of historical oversight” that will help address the imbalance in Nigeria’s geopolitical structure.
According to Nwoko, the South-East zone has suffered from an unfair distribution of states when compared to other regions in Nigeria. “The South-East geopolitical zone currently has five states, unlike its counterparts, except for the North-West, which has seven states,” Nwoko said, highlighting the disparity.
He further noted that this imbalance affects the representation of the Southeast in the National Assembly, as the zone only has 15 senators, compared to the 18 senators from larger regions like the South-South and North-Central. The creation of Anioma State, Nwoko argued, would help to correct this imbalance, offering the Southeast more representation in national matters.
Anioma State, according to Nwoko, would consist of nine local government areas in the present Delta State. These areas include the towns and communities of the Anioma ethnic group, whose members have long felt politically disconnected from the predominantly Yoruba and Urhobo areas that dominate Delta State.
While the calls for the creation of Anioma State have been growing louder, there are significant obstacles to the proposal. Recently, a committee tasked with reviewing state creation requests in Nigeria rejected 31 proposed states, including Anioma State, on the grounds that they failed to meet constitutional requirements.
The committee’s decision cited several factors, including concerns about the financial viability of the proposed states and the need to ensure that new states meet the constitutional provisions regarding population size, revenue generation capacity, and geopolitical balance. This decision has left many in the Southeast region frustrated, as they feel their demand for more states is being ignored.
Despite these challenges, the advocates for Anioma State, including Senator Kalu and Senator Nwoko, remain hopeful. They argue that the creation of a new state would not only address the issues of political representation but also promote economic development and resource allocation for the people of the Southeast.