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, bringing the region’s total to six.

The decision was reached during a two-day retreat in Lagos, where lawmakers reviewed 55 proposals for new states across the country, Vanguard reports.

Currently, the South-East has five states, fewer than the six or seven that make up other geopolitical zones.

The session was chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu.

Kalu, who has consistently pushed for an additional state for the region, said the move was based on equity, justice, and fairness.

Following deliberations, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved the motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State). The motion was unanimously adopted by the committee.

In a related development, the joint committee also set up a subcommittee to further review the creation of more states and local government areas nationwide. Lawmakers noted that 278 proposals were submitted for consideration.

Senator Barau Jibrin urged members to mobilise support across the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions scale through during voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process,” Jibrin said. “By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders.”