Long-Overdue Justice – Umeh On Additional State For Southeast

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Identity and Population, Victor Umeh, has hailed the National Assembly’s approval of a new state in the South-East, describing it as a significant step toward justice, equity, and fairness.

Senator Umeh, who said this on Tuesday in an interview on Arise Television, called the development a bold step toward healing and unity.

He added that the decision marks a significant step toward addressing decades of political and structural marginalisation in the region.

“This agitation for one additional state in the South-East is not a new thing. As far back as 2014, when we were at the National Conference, the whole 492 delegates that attended agreed unanimously that the South-East deserved one additional state before demands from other parts of Nigeria would be considered.

“What the Senate and the House of Representatives did at this retreat last weekend is another confirmation of the justice of the matter,” he said.

According to him, out of the 55 requests for new states received nationwide, the Joint Committee unanimously agreed that the South-East should be given one first, describing the decision as a long-overdue recognition of the region’s short-changing in state creation.

Umeh stressed that once the South-East gets its additional state, future state creations would be considered on an equal basis across all six zones.