The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geopolitical zone.

According to a statement by the committee’s media unit, the resolution was reached on Saturday at a two-day retreat in Lagos, where members reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The session, chaired by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and co-chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, resolved that in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.

Kalu, who has been a vocal advocate for additional state creation in the region, argued that a new state would give the people a greater sense of belonging.

When created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, each of which has six states. The South-East is currently the only zone with five states—Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

The North-West comprises seven states: Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa.

According to the statement, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved the motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State).

“The motion received unanimous support from committee members and was adopted,” the statement said.

Similarly, the committee established a subcommittee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across the six geopolitical zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.

Speaking at the event, Jibrin urged members to rally support among their colleagues in the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions succeed during voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.

“By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders—from both chambers and the state Houses of Assembly,” he said.