Nigeria’s National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review has approved the creation of six additional states, a move that could raise the country’s total number of states from 36 to 42.
The decision was among key resolutions reached at the end of a two-day retreat in Lagos, co-chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau I. Jibrin and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu.
According to a statement issued after the session, the committee considered 69 constitutional amendment bills, including 55 proposals for new states, two boundary adjustment requests, and 278 applications for local government areas.
Following deliberations on Saturday, lawmakers agreed unanimously that one new state should be created in each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones — North West, North East, North Central, South West, South South, and South East.
If the proposal is approved by both chambers of the National Assembly and ratified by state assemblies, the North West would have eight states, the North East seven, North Central seven, South West seven, South South seven, and South East six.
The resolution will be included in the committee’s report, expected to be presented to both chambers of the National Assembly in early November.
Lawmakers also set up a subcommittee to determine the specific areas from which the new states will be carved. Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, the Senate Chief Whip, was appointed to lead the panel.
A northern member of the subcommittee, who asked not to be named, said the team would examine all 55 requests for new states before making recommendations.
“We will meticulously review the 55 requests for state creation to identify the most viable areas for the six new states. We will be fair and just to all the promoters,” the lawmaker said.