political group known as Middle Belt Congress wrote a memoranda to the Nigeria Senate for the creation of 19 more states and 12 provinces from the existing 36 states in Nigeria.

September 13, 2020

political group known as Middle Belt Congress wrote a memoranda to the Nigeria Senate for the creation of 19 more states and 12 provinces from the existing 36 states in Nigeria.

In the days of September 2020, a political group known as Middle Belt Congress wrote a memoranda to the Nigeria Senate for the creation of 19 more states and 12 provinces from the existing 36 states in Nigeria.

The push for the creation of these new states and provinces were contained in the group's 18 point agenda, a frame work for the creation of a new federal structure in Nigeria.

The proposed new states are as follows and their states of extraction;

Aba from Abia State

Adada from Enugu State

Amana from Adamawa State

Anioma from Delta State

Apa from Benue State

Edu from Niger State

Etiti from South-East Geopolitical Zone

Ghari from Kano State

Gurara from Kaduna State

Ijebu from Ogun State

Kainji from Kebbi and Niger States

Katagum from Jigawa State

New Oyo from the Oyo State

Njaba-Anim State from Anambra and Imo States

Ogoja State from Cross River State

Oil River State from Rivers State

Okun State from Ekiti, Ondo, Kwara and Kogi States

Ose State from Edo State

And the states alongside the existing 36 states would be under the following Provinces

(1) North-West Province shall comprise Sokoto, Kebbi, and the Zamfara States.

(2) North-Central Province shall comprise Kaduna and Katsina States.

(3) North-North Province shall comprise Kano, Jigawa and Ghari States.

(4) North-East Province shall comprise Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Bauchi, Amana, Savannah, and Katagum States.

(5) Middle-Belt West Province shall comprise Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Edu and Kainji States.

(6) Middle-Belt East Province shall comprise Plateau, Benue, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Taraba, Gurara and Apa States

(7) Western Province shall comprise Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Ose, Okun and New Oyo States.

(8) South-West Province shall comprise Lagos, Ogun, and Ijebu States.

(9) Mid-West Province shall comprise Delta, Edo and Anioma States.

(10) Niger Delta Province shall comprise Rivers, Bayelsa and Oil River States.

South-East Province shall comprise Anambra, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo, Aba, Adada, Njaba and Etiti States.

(12) South-South Province shall comprise Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and Ogoja States”.

According to the MBC, the creation of these states will put an end to series of political, religious and ethnic problems bedevilling the country. They also stipulated that the 774 local government be abolished as the third tier of government.

Let us however take cognizance of the situation at hand here, Nigeria is currently facing serious economic and financial troubles, not to mention the situations of insurgency, corruption and political instabilities.

Creation of 19 new states is outrageous, as the country is barely sustaining it's 36 states with the little resources at it's disposal.

Accommodating the expenses and allocation of 55 states would be a serious tear in the pocket of the federal government's pocket. In the event that these states would be independent from the federal government, a certain level of dependency on the government can not be overruled.

Buying into the idea of creating these new states would give secessionist groups like Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the leverage of demanding for the creation of it's own state.