Adada, Orlu, Etiti, Anioma: Lawyer Says Process Rowdy

The demand for a new state in the South East region is rising. Adada, Orlu, Etiti, and Anioma have been proposed in various bills in the Senate and House of Representatives.

If created, the South East, which currently has only five states—Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, and Abia—will match the number of states in five of Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.

Several legislators from the region have pushed for these new states, some collectively and others individually.

Lawyer Kelechi Anwu commented on the process, stating that while the demand is justified, the procedure is “rowdy.”

In the Senate, Senator Ned Nwoko from Delta North (APC) introduced a bill for the creation of Anioma State, which has passed the first reading. Nwoko argues that this bill addresses historical issues and imbalances.

On his X handle, Nwoko wrote, “The creation of Anioma state is both urgent and compelling. This proposal addresses the longstanding imbalance in the geopolitical distribution of states in Nigeria. The South East geopolitical zone currently has five states, unlike its counterparts, except for the North West, which has seven states.”

Senator Nwoko’s Anioma State bill followed Honourable Imo Ugochinyere’s bill for the creation of Orlu State.

Ugochinyere’s bill has also passed the first reading in the House of Representatives. He emphasizes that the South East should have the same number of states as other regions.

On July 2, Senator Okey Ezea from Enugu North (Labour Party) introduced a bill for the creation of Adada State, which passed the first reading in the Senate. Ezea stated, “Today (July 2), my bill for the creation of Adada State passed through the first reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate. Although there have been proposals for the creation of other states out of the geopolitical zone over the years, none has been as acceptable and as qualified as Adada.”

The same day, a bill from five members of the House of Representatives seeking the creation of Etiti State also passed the first reading. The lawmakers—Amobi Ogah (Labour Party), Miriam Onuoha (APC), Kama Nkekama (Labour Party), Nnabuife Clara Chinwe (Young Progressives Party), and Anayo Onwuegbu (PDP)—propose that Etiti State will have its capital in Lokpanta, currently in Abia State, and will be created from parts of Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Imo, and Anambra.

The Feasibility of New States

Kelechi Anwu of Anwu & Associates in Abuja commented that the call for a new state in the South East is legitimate but criticized the lawmakers’ approach as disorganized.

He said: “The call for the creation of an additional state in the South East is legitimate, but the procedure and process are rowdy, which is the first factor that will compromise the quest.”

Anwu added that it would be nearly impossible to create a new state under the current national leadership and with the present National Assembly.

“First, it will almost be impossible to create a new state under the national leadership that we have. The kind of National Assembly that is in place. The Southern lawmakers do not have the number to organize such constitutional alteration. Any alteration in the constitution will require the vote of 2/3 majority of the combined national assembly,” he said.

Anwu also noted that the simultaneous demand for Adada, Anioma, Orlu, and Etiti states seems more political than practical.

“Seeking four different states at the same time makes the process unorganized, and it is becoming more political than anything,” he added.