Written by Dennis Agbo
Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of the Owerri Division of the National Industrial Tribunal has revealed that Adada State stands out as the most desirable and legally formidable of the four states proposed to be created in South East Nigeria.
He described Nigeria as a state with strong cultural homogeneity and the oldest unresolved demand for statehood in Nigeria.
Justice Ogbuanya made this assertion in a guest lecture entitled “Overcoming the Constitutional Challenges for the Creation of an Adada State: Interrogating Prospects, Unraveling Challenges, and Developing Advocacy Strategies.” The speech was delivered at the 2024 Nsukka Journalists Forum (NJF) Convention, Public Lectures and Awards Ceremony held in Nsukka, Enugu State on Wednesday.
According to Justice Ogbuanya, the agitation against Adada State dates back to 1983. Yunusa Kaltungo, Federal Member of Parliament for Bauchi State, first floated the proposal in the National Assembly citing the imbalance in state creation in Nigeria, particularly in the South East.
He was followed in the same year by Senator Isaiah Ani representing Nsukka Senatorial Zone in the Second Republic.
He added that the request was submitted to the Mbanefo Commission on Provincial and Local Government Creation and Boundary Adjustment in 1996 and gained attention after the 2014 Constitutional Conference, which recommended the creation of additional provinces in the South-East. Explained.
“The creation of Adada State was also unanimously approved at the 2005 National Political Reform Conference held under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo,” Ogbuanya added. He noted that Nsukka, the state capital candidate, is the largest and oldest local government in Nigeria dating back to colonial times. It is the only district of this size and history that has not yet become a state capital. The area designated as Adada is also the only area in the former eastern part of Niger that has not been granted statehood.
The National Assembly is currently considering this proposal under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 482). The bill seeks to amend Part 1, Article 3, Paragraph 1 and Schedule 1 of the Constitution to facilitate the creation of Adada states, bringing the number of states in the Southeast to six. This would make it possible to bring the South-East on par with other geopolitical zones in the country.
Justice Ogbuanya stressed that Adada State has a stronger case than its competitors because of the need to redress imbalances within the South-East. He said that the current five southeastern states are divided between northern Igbo state (Ndi-Wawa), which consists of Enugu and Ebonyi states, and southern Igbo state (Ndi-Agbenu), which includes Abia, Anambra and Imo states. He explained that it was unevenly distributed. Since South Igbo State holds three of the five states, there is a need to allocate an additional state to North Igbo State, to which Adada belongs.
He appealed to the people not to get discouraged by the difficult process of amending the constitution to create a nation. As an example, he pointed to the successful elevation of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to the status of a High Court under Article 254C of the Constitution (as amended), demonstrating that constitutional reform is possible in a democratic system. Proven.
