The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties has called on the National Assembly to expedite action in creating five additional states in the country, emphasising that it would address the imbalance in the number of states in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. 

CNPP is an umbrella organisation of several political parties in Nigeria.

The parties added that creating more states would help ensure equity, fairness, and justice in distributing resources and opportunities among the country’s various regions. 

“Democracy does not support injustice. The basic principles of democracy derive from free, fair, justice, and equitable distribution of resources, and the rule of law,” said CNPP in a statement on Sunday. “The CNPP proposes that each of the six geopolitical zones should have seven states each, based on economic viability and other relevant factors for the new states to be created.”

The political body added, “Specifically, the North-Central and North-West zones already have seven states, while the rest of the zones have six states each, except the South-East region with only five states.”

The CNPP also agitated for the need to create one additional state for each of the South-West, North-East, and South-South zones, and two additional states should be created in the South-East zone.

According to the coalition of parties, once this is achieved, the National Assembly can consider creating additional states in each of the six geopolitical zones.

“The CNPP believes that this is a necessary step towards ensuring that every region in Nigeria has an equal opportunity to develop and contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation.

“We urge the National Assembly to take this matter seriously and work towards creating a more just and equitable society for all Nigerians,” the statement explained. 

The CNPP’s fresh agitation came after the House of Representatives Constitution Review Committee in the National Assembly proposed the creation of 31 additional states besides the nation’s 36 states, a development that has sparked widespread reactions from Nigerians and various groups in the country. 

The committee chaired by Benjamin Kalu had proposed an additional six new states in the North-Central, four in the North-East, five in the North-West, five in the South-South, and seven in the South-West.

The states being considered by the committee include Okun, Okura and Confluence from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa from Benue; FCT state; Amana from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi; Savannah from Borno; Muri from Taraba; New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna state; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi, etc.

However, various groups, including the Yoruba social-cultural group, Afenifere, and the Arewa Consultative Forum, have rejected the proposal because it did not meet their aspirations. 

While Afenifere noted that the proposed state creation nullified its demand for true federalism, Arewa said the idea was also unnecessary.