Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has renewed calls for the creation of an additional state in the Southeastto ensure the region is equitably represented among Nigeria’s geopolitical zones.
Speaking on Thursday in Enugu while receiving members of the Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment on a courtesy visit to the Government House, Governor Mbah emphasized the importance of addressing regional imbalances and deepening federalism in the country.
The visit by the Senate Committee comes ahead of the regional public hearing on constitutional amendments scheduled for Friday.
Highlighting the pressing need for decentralization of security, Mbah stated, “We have advocated fervently that there is a need for states to create state police services, just as you have the federal police, but with defined jurisdictions and operational parameters. We think that this is overdue, and there is no better time for that than now, given the fragilities we have in our various communities. The state police will be a truly welcome development in our constitution.”
He further stressed the need to correct what he described as a structural imbalance within the federation: “We also believe that since the South East is the only zone with five states in the country, this should be corrected during this process of amendment.”
On the issue of national leadership and inclusion, Mbah added, “According to him, we think that will give the South East and every other region a chance at the presidency. These are areas we believe are amendable, and we will be presenting our position formally in the hearing on Friday and subsequent days.”
Earlier, the leader of the Senate delegation and Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, said the committee was in Enugu to collect the views of South East residents for the constitutional review process.
“It goes without saying that the 1999 constitution has received a lot of criticism from Nigerians, including that it is the product of military dictatorship. Nigerians also believed that the constitution does not represent the interests of all the segments that make up Nigeria. As a result of these criticisms, there is a need to alter the constitution from time to time.”
He expressed hope that the forum would provide a platform to address long-standing grievances: “We pray that this engagement will afford us, the people of the South East the opportunity to right some wrongs as a result of the position of the 1999 constitution. People of South East are crying foul that we are being marginalized in so many areas, particularly as it relates to the number of states, juxtaposing the same with other geopolitical zones of Nigeria.”
— (NAN)
