Deputy Speaker Warns: State Creation Proposals Must Meet Constitutional Requirements

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu had warned the supporters for states creation not to be carried away by the announcement that the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution had received 30 proposals for the creation of new states.

Kalu, who spoke in an interview in Abuja yesterday, said the call for caution was informed by the hurdles the agitators for states creation must scale before their dreams can translate into reality.

The Deputy Speaker, who chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review, also clarified proposals for new states received by the committee were 30 and not 31 as previously announced.

However, he said that none of the proposals for new states currently before the House has met the constitutional requirements for state creation.

Therefore, Kalu urged the applicants to comply with the constitutional procedures outlined in Section 8, subsections 1 to 3 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), saying that the parliament was giving the applicants for new states until March 5 to rectify the gaps in their applications.

To create a new state, the Constitution requires two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, the House of Representatives, State Houses of Assembly, and local governments.

The lawmaker said the parliament is committed to following the procedure and is inviting the applicants to resubmit their proposals once they have complied with the constitutional guidelines.

He further noted that his committee would be going to the newspapers to place public announcements so that those who desire new states can follow the guidelines laid down by the constitutional provisions.

He said: “We are giving them one month, which is about March 5, to cure the gaps in the applications.

The applications as they are will not be able to fly because we are strict with complying with the dictates of the provisions of the constitution.

“They should fill in the gaps and bring it back before March 5.

“There is no alternative to compliance with the provisions of the constitution.

The position of the constitution is sacrosanct; it is our ground norm.

“If it says you have to follow certain procedures in line with the rule of law and observing its supremacy, you have to comply with the provisions of the constitution.

“There is a window we have created, which is one month. It is sufficient for people to cure the gaps in their applications and we will reconsider them.

The lawmaker said the deluge of requests for state creation might have emanated from the people’s desire for more dividends of democracy.

Honestly, the parliament listens to all sides of narratives on any issue, and ours is to feel the pulse of the people, how they feel about an issue, and then analyse it through debates and the parliament will not take a position.

“We will not impose any position on Nigerians,” he added.