Requests For 31 States Creation Failed Constitutional Requirements —Kalu

By Angel Ike

Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Benjamin Kalu, said none of the 31 requests the committee received for state creation met the constitutional requirements.

Kalu disclosed this at a two-day retreat for members of the Committee in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, on Friday.

He said the retreat which was organised by the 10th House, in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and supported by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
served as a platform for reviewing pending amendment bills and strategising on the next steps in the constitutional review process.

Kalu who is also the deputy Speaker of the house acknowledged the importance of state creation in Nigeria’s governance discourse, nothing that while the demands reflected the aspirations of various communities, they fell short of the legal criteria necessary for consideration.

He explained that the committee extended the deadline for submissions to March 5, 2025, to allow for further input and possible revisions, adding that the date can be extended further depending on the outcome of the retreat.

He said the House Committee is currently reviewing 151 constitutional amendment bills, reflecting lawmakers’ collective effort to refine governance in Nigeria.

“Although we have received 31 requests for state creation, none of these requests met the constitutional requirements for amendment.

“Therefore, we have since extended the submission date to 5th of March, 2025. But this retreat could in our resolution extend it further if we find out that there are still challenges that the people we represent in their efforts to make their voices heard.

“So at the end of this retreat, it will be one of the things we will look into, whether or not we will extend the time. But let it be a notice that none of the applications followed the conditions laid out by Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kalu said.

Kalu highlighted a major challenge in the review process which is duplication, stating that some bills addressed similar issues under different sponsors, while others overlapped in subject matter.

He said the committee has scheduled the next phase of the constitution review for Zonal and National Public Hearings across the six geopolitical zones. North Central (Nasarawa and Niger States), North East (Borno and Gombe States), North West (Kaduna and Sokoto States), South East (Enugu and Imo States), South South (Bayelsa and Cross River States), and the South West (Lagos and Ondo States).

According to him, these hearings will provide an avenue for Nigerians to contribute to the amendment process.

Kalu urged lawmakers to engage with these bills diligently and objectively to ensure that the final amendments reflect the will of the Nigerian people.