Did Senate Approve Creation of 31 New States in Nigeria? Fact Emerges
- The Senate has dismissed the claim that the National Assembly has passed a proposal for 31 new states in Nigeria
- Yemi Adaramadu, Senate spokesperson, said the report is fake news, adding that the process of state creation is a rigorous one that requires several stages of constitutional amendment
- According to Adaramodu, the approval requires two-thirds of the members of the state Houses of Assembly as well
The National Assembly has denied the report that it has approved the creation of 31 new states for Nigeria.
Yemi Adaramadu, the spokesperson of the Senate, denied the report, adding that the Legislative chamber cannot create the states alone and that it would pass through various stages of constitutional amendment.
Source: Twitter
According to the BBC Pidgin, Adaramodu explained that the proposal to create a new state must get the approval of the two-thirds majority of the national and state houses of assembly, stating that such is the thorough process.
Senate reacts to report of new states
Adaramodu's comment was a response to a viral message on WhatsApp, making the claim that the Senate has passed the bill to create 31 new states across the country. In February 2025, the House of Representatives said it had received proposals to create 31 new states in Nigeria.
Benjamin Kalu, the chairman of the committee on constitutional review, disclosed that the proposal suggested the creation of six states in the North Central, North East has four proposals, North West and South East have five each. Four states are proposed in the South-South and seven in the South West.
If the proposal is approved by the National Assembly, Nigeria would have 67 states, bigger than the current 50 states that the United States currently has. It was yet to be clarified when the process would be concluded, as Senator Adaramodu explained that it was a long process that involved several stages of constitutional amendment.
Analyst reacts to the proposed 31 new states
However, the proposal has been condemned by Rotimi Sulyman, stating that it was not the next thing for Nigeria, as he advocated for true federalism. Rotimi made the comment in an exclusive interview with legit.ng. He said:
"I don’t think the idea serves any productive purpose. To what end would the creation of more 31 states be, when the existing 36 states are mostly not viable and live on handouts from the federal government?
"I think if we are serious, we should be talking of true federalism to the letter, which would entail every part of the country harnessing its resources for economic and national developments."
Source: Twitter
Deputy Senate president speaks on new state
Legit.ng earlier reported that Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau has vowed to work with Senator Muntari Dan-Dutse to see to the establishment of a new 'Karaduwa' state.
Barau noted that the agitation of the Karaduwa people was welcome, saying the people were agrarian and had everything to gain with this move.
According to Barau, the creation of a new state would be apt, adding that it would bring meaningful development to people in that region of Katsina.
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Source: Legit.ng
