31 States: There must be an end to Nonsense! – By Ismail Omipidan

Nigerian Journalist, author and Public Affairs Analyst believes the move by the House of Representatives to create 31 states is an indication that the lawmakers has nothing to do with their precious time.

Since my encounter with the National Assembly, first as a reporter, reporting its activities and later as a political appointee, I have always defended its actions. I do it deliberately because I believe the actions of our lawmakers are most times misconstrued.

Last year, when the House of Representatives, through the Office of the Speaker, held a summit on National Security, we applauded the move and encouraged the lawmakers to pull through Nigerians desire to have a state police so as to further strengthen our security architecture.

Before then, they came up with the idea of returning the country to a parliamentary system of government. I didn’t quite buy the idea, but I never made any public comment on the matter.

However, yesterday’s move about the issue of state creation is a sign that the House appears to be bereft of idea and probably lacks what to do with its precious time.

If the House is having difficulty in moving on with its assignment on constitution review, it should simply go and dust up the report of the Sixth and Seventh National Assembly. In it, they would come across some radical amendments that were proposed, but which were lost to bad politics.

I make bold to say that most of the impactful reforms we have recorded in our electoral laws today were made possible by one man and his team. He is Senator Ike Ekweremadu, former Deputy President of the Senate. We cannot talk about those reforms without giving credit to whom it is due.

If we are serious about creating any state, perhaps, it is one in the South East, to balance up with the other regions with six states. The drafters of our constitution deliberately put in place stringent conditions for the creation of new states, which to me, cannot be achieved within the timeframe we have to round up this review exercise.

I just have to give them the benefit of doubt that they were probably quoted or reported out of context because apart from catching banner headlines and giving Nigerians false hope, this proposal cannot see the light of the day. Otherwise , I suggest that the House faces the serious task of constitution amendment and put an end to this nonsense talk about states creation.