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Today, Nigeria has 36 states and an area that serves as the country’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT). While the Northwest geopolitical zone has seven states, the Northeast, Northcentral, Southsouth, and Southwest each have six states. Only the Southeast has five states.
Being a heterogeneous entity, its different tribes have been clamouring for the creation of new states and secession to fully control these entities’ governmental powers.
While secession might be far-fetched as Nigeria operates a federal constitution that makes secession close to almost impossible, the creation of a new state could easily be done in line with constitutional provisions.
This explainer article addresses the state creation process in Nigeria as part of DUBAWA’s Media and Information Literacy (MIL) mandate.
The controversy surrounding state creation
In 2023, the apex Igbo cultural body, Ohaneze Ndigbo, threatened to sue the Nigerian government for failing to create an additional state for the Southeast region, which the zone had been agitating for decades.
Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the group’s former leader, expressed concerns about equity and fairness as the Southeast region has only five states.
The Nigerian government ignored the call, with some groups saying that creating new states in Nigeria would be a costly and unnecessary endeavour, while others argued that it is needed to quench the fear of ethnic domination.
Recently, several users asserted that the National Assembly has put forth a plan to create a set of new states in Nigeria. But can the National Assembly unilaterally create a new state?
What does the law say?
DUBAWA checks show that creating a new state requires a rigorous process involving multiple stakeholders and approvals, including the National Assembly’s two-third majority vote and the president’s approval, as well as a referendum in the affected areas.
According to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, some criteria must be met before a bill to create a new state can be passed into law.
According to Section 8 (1) of the same Constitution, a request should be supported by at least a two-thirds majority of members (representing the area demanding the creation of the new state).
The request is thereafter approved in a referendum by at least a two-thirds majority of the people of the area where the demand for the creation of the state originated.
After this, the referendum result is approved by a simple majority of all the states of the federation, supported by a simple majority of members of the Houses of Assembly.
Following that step, the proposal is also to be approved by a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of members of each House of the National Assembly.
Expert weighs in
Clarifying the recent controversy over state creation in Nigeria, Akin Rotimi, the spokesperson for the House of Representatives, told DUBAWA that the Committee has only reviewed proposals for the creation of new states by constitutional provisions.
He said that the House of Representatives committee on Constitution Review has received 31 state creation requests in the ongoing constitution amendment process, which has sparked another debate among Nigerians from different regions.
“These proposals, submitted as private member bills and memoranda from the public, do not represent the official position of the House.
“These submissions will undergo thorough legislative scrutiny, including public hearings, stakeholder engagements, and multiple levels of approval before any constitutional changes can be effected,” he said.
He explained that Benjamin Kalu, the Nigerian House of Representatives deputy speaker, only communicated the proposal during plenary on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025.
Abdulqudus Ogundapo, a politics reporter with Premium Times, also spoke on the same controversy. Mr Ogundapo said that the lawmakers are not proposing the creation of new states but rather deliberating on proposals that they received.
“NASS [the National Assembly] isn’t proposing the creation of additional states. It was some groups or probably individuals who proposed it to the House,” he mentioned.
