A new threat has emerged for the ongoing efforts to establish an additional state in the Southeast geopolitical zone.
Members of the zone’s National Assembly are reportedly at odds with one another, according to Anaedoonline.ng.
Etiti State from the five states, Orashi State from Imo and Anambra states, Njaba from the current Imo state, the removal of Aba State from Abia State, and Adada State from Enugu State have all been proposed in the past.
Recall that in order to bring the total number of states in the Southeast to six, Imo State representative Ikenga Ugochinyere filed a bill to establish Orlu State in the House of Representatives.
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The planned state will be divided from Imo, Anambra, and Abia per Ugochinyere’s bill, with the capital of the state in Orlu.
The new measure will add seats to the House of Representatives and three new senatorial districts in addition to the state.
The politician claims that the proposed state would encompass Ihiala, Uli, Idiato, Umeze, Umuchu, and the whole Orlu Senatorial District.
The Southeast would have six states, the same as the Northeast, North Central, Southwest, and South South, if the measure passes constitutional obstacles.
Peter Uzokwe, the federal constituency representative for Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo in Anambra State, has publicly opposed the move, claiming that Ugochinyere separated his hometown of Ozubulu from Anambra without seeking his permission.
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In a briefing to a few chosen media on Wednesday in his office, Uzokwe stated that Ugochinyere had carved the object with the intention of embarrassing him and possibly putting Ozubulu under Orlu’s control.
“Taking Ozubulu out of Ekwusigo, are you taking Ozubulu out of Ekwusigo? Ozubulu has been the local government headquarters of Ekwusigo. You just came to Ekwusigo and took out Ozubulu.
“Will Ozubulu, which has been the headquarters of Ekwusigo, now be a minority in Orlu?
“Ozubulu has invested so much in Anambra State that we cannot leave it.
“Our investment is in Anambra State, our investment is in Nnewi and in Onitsha, so how do you reconcile that? If he had approached me, consulted with me…
“What my colleague did was to take Imo map and Anambra map and start carving out places as he pleases. He did it just to embarrass me because this is my local government. Could he have done that to Nnewi? He dare not,” he said.
The lawmaker warned that Ugochinyere’s move could instigate wars in the region.
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“I would have loved him to carve out Nnewi. State creation is a permanent thing that can bring war, that can bring border issues. Tomorrow you hear that Igbos are killing themselves because they don’t have blood ties.
“Our language with Orlu is different. Our culture is different, and there is no affinity, so how would you reconcile that? We have come a long way to go back to Egypt,” he added.
The member then stipulated that his people would not support the idea until Ozubulu was chosen as the new state’s capital.
News reporters discussed the disagreement over the carving with Ohanaeze Ndigbo spokesperson Alex Ogbonnia.
According to him, the leading Igbo group has already established a committee to meticulously plan the appropriate division of a new state from the Southeast.
Ogbonnia claims that the group, led by former Enugu State governor Okwesilieze Nwodo, will present the Igbo perspective on the creation.
According to the spokesperson, Ugochinyere’s law has sparked protests in a few Abia State villages.
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“Ohanaeze Ndigbo has set up a committee, in respect of the amendment of the constitution, headed by Okwesilieze Nwodo. The Committee was inaugurated about two days ago, and they are yet to submit a report.
“Not only the lawmaker, some communities in Abia also protested. The issue is that Igbos will come out with their positions, and the person in charge of that is Nwodo of Enugu State.
“Whatever the Igbo position is with respect to the constitutional amendment will come from that committee. Therefore, it will be inappropriate to begin to preempt that committee. Their role is to harmonize the issues and produce a harmonized report,” he said.
Senator Ned Nwoko recently revealed a plan to establish Anioma State and relocate it to the Southeast, in addition to the dispute in the House.
The Igbo body’s youth wing, however, rejected the proposed Orlu State with frankness.
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According to Anaedoonline.ng, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, the national president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, urged the National Assembly to abandon any plans to establish Orlu State during a press conference on the subject.
According to Okwu, it undermines the principles of justice and equity and invites anarchy to the Southeast.
He claimed that while the South-East wanted an extra state to match other areas, the advocates of Orlu State were pushing a self-serving and polarising agenda that would only exacerbate the region’s complaints of marginalisation.
The group stated that they preferred Etitit State because they felt it was comprehensive.
“The proposed Etiti State encompasses parts of all the 5 existing states of the South East.
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“They include: Orumba South, Orumba North (Anambra); Awgu, Aninri, Oji River (Enugu); Afikpo North, Afikpo South, Ivo (Ebonyi), Ehime Mbano, Okigwe, Onuimo (Imo), as well as Umunneochi and Isuikwuato (Abia).
“It is, therefore, unthinkable for anyone to wake up one day and plot to thwart the general interest of the South-East in pursuit of a selfish agenda,” he said.
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