A bill proposing to create three new states from the existing six in Nigeria’s South-West region has been listed for presentation in the House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke (Osun-PDP), seeks to create Oke-Ogun, Ijebu, and Ife-Ijesa states.
Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade federal constituency of Osun state, chairs the house committee on judiciary.
The proposed legislation, titled “A Bill for an Act to amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended),” aims to modify the First Schedule, Part I, introducing the new states and adjusting the number of LGAs.
The draft bill proposes that Oke-Ogun state, with Iseyin as its proposed capital city, will comprise 12 LGAs.
Ijebu state, upon creation, will consist of nine LGAs with Ijebu Ode as its capital, while Ife Ijesa state is set to be composed of 11 LGAs, with Ile-Ife as its capital city.
The bill, addressed to the clerk of the house of representatives and dated February 6, is expected to be listed for first reading.
If the bill scales through and is passed into law, the south-west will have the highest numbers of states among the six geopolitical zones.
Currently, the North-West region has the highest number of states (seven) while the other regions, except south east have 6 states each.
If the bill scales through and is passed into law, the south-west will have the highest numbers of states among the six geopolitical zones.
However, the path to the creation of states in Nigeria is laden with challenges. The bill requires a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of the National Assembly, followed by approval from at least two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly (24 states).
