Olayiwola Matthew
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has stated that none of the 30 proposals for new states have met the constitutional requirements outlined in Section 8 of the Constitution.
In a statement issued on Friday by his media office, Kalu clarified that the parliament has not taken a position on the matter but remains committed to following due process.
He explained that the creation of a new state requires a two-thirds majority approval from the Senate, House of Representatives, state houses of assembly, and local governments.
Since the current proposals fall short of these criteria, applicants have been invited to resubmit their requests after ensuring full compliance with the constitutional guidelines.
“We are a people’s parliament, and we have not taken a stance on state creation,” Kalu said. He emphasized that 30 applications, not 31, were received, noting that Ibadan State was mistakenly listed twice.
“As of now, none of these proposals meet Section 8 requirements, which is why we are notifying Nigerians. If state creation requests are not considered, the public should understand the reason,” he added.
Applicants have until March 5 to address the deficiencies in their submissions.