The House of Representatives has passed through the second reading, a bill seeking the creation of Ogoja State in the South-South geo-political zone.
The bill, sponsored by Hon. Godwin Offiono, representing Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency, Cross River State, and two other lawmakers, seeks to amend Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution.
Leading the debate on the bill’s general principles at the plenary on Thursday, Offiono gave his colleagues a historical overview to highlight the injustice faced by the people of Ogoja.
“To fully grasp the extent of the injustice inflicted upon the people of Ogoja, it is essential to revisit the history of state creation in Nigeria,” he remarked.
“Following the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914, 24 provinces were established, including Ogoja.
“Under the regional administrations that emerged in the Eastern and Western Regions in 1956, and in the Northern Region in 1957, these provinces, including Ogoja, continued to exist within the newly structured regions.”
“The era of state creation in Nigeria began on May 27, 1967, when the Supreme Military Council, led by General Yakubu Gowon, established the first 12 states. This historic move reorganised the country from its existing ten regions into a new structure of states, replacing the previous provincial system.”
“In this arrangement, the provinces in the North were consolidated into six states: North East, North West, North Central, Kano, Kwara, and Benue/Plateau.
“Similarly, the Eastern Region saw its provinces restructured into three states: East Central, South East, and Rivers. The Western Region was also divided into three states: West, Midwest, and Lagos.”
He stated that “in February 1975, General Murtala Mohammed’s military administration established seven new states: Kano, Imo, Anambra, Bauchi, Ondo, Niger, and Benue. This expansion raised the total number of states in Nigeria to 19.
“Subsequently, in 1987, the creation of Akwa Ibom and Katsina further increased the number of states to 21. It is significant to note that, despite these expansions, Ogoja was not granted state status even as the number of states rose to 30 under General Ibrahim Babangida’s regime in 1991.
He lamented Ogoja’s exclusion during the last state creation exercise in October 1996, when General Sani Abacha established six new states: Bayelsa, Nasarawa, Gombe, Zamfara, Ekiti, and Ebonyi. “Pathetically, Ogoja was once again overlooked,” he stated, emphasising the need to address this long-standing omission.
“It will have all the advantages of infrastructures and institutions, with its population of slightly above two million people on a landmass of 12,158 km with reasonable economic viability, propelled by arable farmlands. Ogoja is blessed with bountiful produce of cash crops such as cocoa, banana, rice, rubber, groundnut and so on,” the lawmaker added.
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