Lawmaker Renews Push For Savannah State

A  federal lawmaker from Borno State, Dr. Usman Midala Balama, has renewed the call for the creation of Savannah State from the existing Borno State, at the ongoing House of Representatives zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution.

Dr Balama hinged the basis of his call by arguing that  it was an “imperative” step to enhance resource utilization, development, and security within the region.

The lawmaker who  represents the Hawul/Askira-Uba federal constituency presented his case to newsmen yesterday in Maiduguri, on the sidelines of the House of Representatives’ ongoing constitution review process.

Dr. Balama highlighted Borno’s significant population and its 27 local government areas, the highest in the North-East geopolitical zone, as key justifications for the proposed new state.

“If you look at all the states in the North-East, Borno State has the largest population; and it has 27 local government areas, which also is the highest number in the geopolitical zone,” Midala stated.

He said a smaller administrative unit would lead to more efficient governance and resource allocation. “We want to ensure effective utilization of resources in this country; and when we talk of that, the smaller the size of the component, the easier and most-effective the management of the resources it has,” he added.

According to him, the creation of Savannah State would be a “win-win situation” for all residents of Borno. “Once Southern Borno has Savannah, Borno itself will have a population it can easily manage in terms of development, resource utilization and even in terms of security,” he asserted.