Former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes, Senator Chukwuka Utazi, who also served as the Minority Whip in the 9th Assembly, has weighed in on the issue of creating additional states in Nigeria.
In an interview with Arise News, he stated that if the federal government is genuinely committed to the idea, it is entirely feasible—just as the Midwestern Region was established in 1964. He emphasized that this is not an unprecedented move, as Nigeria successfully created a new region during the First Republic under civilian rule.
According to him, the key factor in making this happen is a consensus between the federal government and the states. If there is mutual agreement, he believes state creation can be achieved once again.
Highlighting the existing imbalance in Nigeria’s geopolitical zones, Utazi pointed out that the Northwest currently has seven states, while the Southwest and North Central each have six, and the Southeast lags behind with only five.
Drawing a parallel to the past, he recalled how the Midwestern Region was carved out of the Western Region in 1964 to address a similar issue of representation. Given this historical precedent, he sees no reason why the federal government cannot take steps to grant the Southeast the equal representation it has long demanded.
“For example if you look at the six geo political zones we have in the country today, we have 6, 6, 5, 7. Northwest have seven currently so but if you go to Southwest is 6, North Central 6, you come down to the South East you have five.”
“So if the country looked at in 1964 saw the reason to create the midwestern region out of Southwest out of the western region, I don’t see the reason why the federal government cannot look into the Southeast that have been agitating and asking that let there be a parity.”
He went on to suggest a solution, advising that granting the Southeast one additional state would address their concerns. However, if doing so creates further imbalance, he proposed a broader adjustment to ensure fairness across all regions.
Since the Northwest already has seven states, he recommended adding one state each to the Southwest and North Central, while allocating two new states to the Southeast.
This approach, he argued, would create equal representation among the regions, foster balanced development, and put an end to ongoing agitation for state creation.
“So give them that one state but if given one state is going to be a trouble, make every other one to come to seven since we already have seven in the north the Northwest you know they have already seven states.”
“So you can just give Southwest one, North Central one, you go to Southeast give them two and all that so if you do that you bring them to parity and then there will be even development and this agitation will end.”
