Senate to consider 31 state creation in constitution amendment drive

The Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution has announced it will consider 31 proposals seeking the creation of new states across the country.

The committee, headed by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, revealed that the proposals will be scrutinized during a two-day zonal public hearing slated for July 4 and 5, 2025.

The hearings, Diaspora Digital Media understand, will take place simultaneously in Lagos (south-west), Enugu (south-east), Ikot Ekpene (south-south), Jos (north-central), Maiduguri (north-east), and Kano (north-west).

Ismail Mudashir, the spokesman of the Deputy Senate President in a statement on Sunday, said the committee is committed to gathering citizens’ input on a wide range of constitutional amendments.

He said the committee received five state creation requests from the south-west, south-south and north-central zones; seven from the north-east; six from the north-west; and three from the south-east.

Mudashir added that the committee will also consider important national issues such as local government autonomy, judicial and electoral reforms, state police, and inclusive governance.

Speaking further in the statement, Mudashir one of the bills proposes to entrench local governments as a constitutionally recognised tier of government with guaranteed tenure.

“The second bill on local government reforms seeks to create an independent National Local Government Electoral Commission (NALGEC) to organise, conduct and supervise local government elections,” the statement reads.

“Also to be considered during the zonal public hearing are two bills on security and policing for the establishment of state police and state security council to coordinate internal security policies at the sub-national level.

“In the area of fiscal reforms, six bills are going to be considered including the one to empower the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission to enforce compliance of remittance of accruals into and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account and streamline the procedure for reviewing the revenue allocation formula.

“Also, on fiscal reforms, a bill to alter the provisions of the constitution to specify the period within which the president or the governor of a state shall present the appropriation bill before the National Assembly or House of Assembly will be discussed during the hearing.”

For Diaspora Digital Media Updates click on Whatsapp, or Telegram. For eyewitness accounts/ reports/ articles, write to: citizenreports@diasporadigitalmedia.com. Follow us on X (Fomerly Twitter) or Facebook