… Insists 31 requests do not meet requirement
The House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Amendment has rejected all 31 proposals for the creation of new states, citing failure to meet constitutional requirements.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, who also chairs the committee, made the announcement on Friday during a two-day retreat in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State.
The retreat, organised by the 10th House of Representatives in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), aimed to assess constitutional amendment proposals and chart the way forward.
“Although we have received 31 requests for state creation, none of these requests met the constitutional requirements for amendment,” Kalu said.
Despite this setback, the committee has extended the deadline for submissions to 5 March 2025, allowing communities to revise their proposals.
Kalu also indicated that further extensions might be considered, depending on the retreat’s resolutions.
Beyond the issue of state creation, the House Committee is reviewing 151 constitutional amendment bills aimed at addressing governance challenges in Nigeria.
“Some of the bills have passed the second reading, while others are still at the first stage,” Kalu noted.
