{"id":7621,"date":"2021-03-08T14:21:42","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T13:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=7621"},"modified":"2021-03-08T14:21:47","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T13:21:47","slug":"is-there-an-economic-restructuring-bill-to-bring-nigerian-states-to-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/is-there-an-economic-restructuring-bill-to-bring-nigerian-states-to-42\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there an \u2018Economic Restructuring Bill\u2019 to bring Nigerian states to 42?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim: A viral WhatsApp post entitled \u201cBelow is the purported kite being flown by the Federal Government – Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u201d outlines that Nigeria will be made up of 42 states with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Checks and confirmation by Dubawa<\/em> showed there is no such \u2018bill\u2019 from the Federal Government as widely circulated. It was only a \u2018proposal\u2019 from an author, Ayo Akinfe in one of his columns.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A viral WhatsApp post which has been forwarded\/shared many times as indicated by the instant messaging application, entitled \u201cBelow is the purported kite being flown by the Federal Government – Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u201d, claims that Nigeria will be made up of 42 states with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post which bears the author as \u2018Ayo Akinfe\u2019 on his website<\/a>, said: [1] Nigeria will be made up of 42 states, with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone. These shall be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

South-south<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Bayelsa State – Yenagoa<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Western Ijaw State – Patani<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Rivers State – Port Harcourt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Cross River State – Calabar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Akwa Ibom State – Uyo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Edo State – Benin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Delta State – Warri<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northeast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Mambilla State – Gashaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Taraba State – Jalingo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Adamawa State – Yola<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Borno State – Maiduguri<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Yobe State – Damaturu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Bauchi State – Bauchi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Gombe State – Gombe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southeast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Anioma State – Asaba<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Orashi State – Omoku<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Anambra State – Awka<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Imo State – Owerri<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Enugu State – Enugu<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Abia State – Umuahia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Ebonyi State – Abakaliki <\/p>\n\n\n\n

North-Central<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Abuja State – Abuja<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Gurara State – Kafanchan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Benue State – Makurdi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Plateau State – Jos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Nasarawa State – Lafia<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Kogi State – Lokoja<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Niger State – Minna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southwest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Kwara State – Ilorin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Oyo State – Ibadan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Ogun State – Abeokuta<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Lagos State – Ikeja<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Ondo – Akure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Ekiti – Ado-Ekiti<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Osun – Oshogbo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northwest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1] Sokoto State – Sokoto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] Kebbi State – Birnin Kebbi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] Kaduna State – Kaduna<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] Katsina State – Katsina<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] Kano State – Kano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6] Jigawa State – Dutse<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7] Zamfara State – Gusua<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post which has also been shared on other social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, has generated mixed reactions.  Many have debated and deliberated over the post but yet there is nothing as such. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, one @shawnfendi<\/a> on Twitter<\/a> shared the post and it had over 100 engagements. Also, @JustSociety4all<\/a> with over 13,000 followers, shared the post on her timeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to afrobarometer.org<\/a>, Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and 1 Federal Capital Territory. Each of the 36 states is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares powers with the Federal Government as enumerated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1960 to 1966, Nigeria operated on the basis of Northern region, Western region, Eastern region, and the Mid-Western region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creation of states began in 1967 with General Yakubu Gowon coming to power via a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat. He dissolved the regions and created twelve states out of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Map of Nigeria\u00a0<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In verifying the authenticity of the post, our correspondent searched through the internet to find a traceable background link to the post, but no credible media outlet has reported any news about the purported bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A twitter account owned by Ayo Akinfe (@AyoAkinfe<\/a>), where the story was shared after it was posted on its website, created more clarification about the post.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While responding to enquiries from our correspondent via his Twitter Direct message, on the purported bill which bears his name, he said, it was \u201cJust a proposal from me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI intend to publish a collection of all my thoughts in a book,\u201d he added.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Akinfe who authored the piece said he writes 10-point columns every day on his website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the London-based journalist said \u201cIgnore all those wayo people attributing it to the government.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dubawa<\/em> also reached out to the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. In Garba\u2019s reaction, he described the report as \u2018unknown\u2019 and asked that the presidency be left out of it since it was not a draft bill from the presidency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The trending piece which has been attributed to the federal government is FALSE. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author, Ayo Akinfe, clarified to Dubawa<\/em> that he wrote the piece as a proposal in his column; hence, the \u2018Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u2019 <\/em>is not a purported kite being flown by the Federal Government as widely circulated on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Claim: A viral WhatsApp post entitled \u201cBelow is the purported kite being flown by the Federal Government – Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u201d outlines that Nigeria will be made up of 42 states with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone. Checks and confirmation by Dubawa showed there is no such \u2018bill\u2019 from the Federal Government as widely circulated. It was only a \u2018proposal\u2019 from an author, Ayo Akinfe in one of his columns.\u00a0 Full text A viral WhatsApp post which has been forwarded\/shared many times as indicated by the instant messaging application, entitled \u201cBelow is the purported kite being flown by the Federal Government – Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u201d, claims that Nigeria will be made up of 42 states with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone. The post which bears the author as \u2018Ayo Akinfe\u2019 on his website, said: [1] Nigeria will be made up of 42 states, with seven per each of her constituent geo-political zone. These shall be: South-south [1] Bayelsa State – Yenagoa [2] Western Ijaw State – Patani [3] Rivers State – Port Harcourt [4] Cross River State – Calabar [5] Akwa Ibom State – Uyo [6] Edo State – Benin [7] Delta State – Warri Northeast [1] Mambilla State – Gashaka [2] Taraba State – Jalingo [3] Adamawa State – Yola [4] Borno State – Maiduguri [5] Yobe State – Damaturu [6] Bauchi State – Bauchi [7] Gombe State – Gombe Southeast [1] Anioma State – Asaba [2] Orashi State – Omoku [3] Anambra State – Awka [4] Imo State – Owerri [5] Enugu State – Enugu [6] Abia State – Umuahia [7] Ebonyi State – Abakaliki  North-Central [1] Abuja State – Abuja [2] Gurara State – Kafanchan [3] Benue State – Makurdi [4] Plateau State – Jos [5] Nasarawa State – Lafia [6] Kogi State – Lokoja [7] Niger State – Minna Southwest [1] Kwara State – Ilorin [2] Oyo State – Ibadan [3] Ogun State – Abeokuta [4] Lagos State – Ikeja [5] Ondo – Akure [6] Ekiti – Ado-Ekiti [7] Osun – Oshogbo Northwest [1] Sokoto State – Sokoto [2] Kebbi State – Birnin Kebbi [3] Kaduna State – Kaduna [4] Katsina State – Katsina [5] Kano State – Kano [6] Jigawa State – Dutse [7] Zamfara State – Gusua The post which has also been shared on other social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, has generated mixed reactions.  Many have debated and deliberated over the post but yet there is nothing as such.  Meanwhile, one @shawnfendi on Twitter shared the post and it had over 100 engagements. Also, @JustSociety4all with over 13,000 followers, shared the post on her timeline.\u00a0 According to afrobarometer.org, Nigeria is a federation of 36 states and 1 Federal Capital Territory. Each of the 36 states is a semi-autonomous political unit that shares powers with the Federal Government as enumerated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. From 1960 to 1966, Nigeria operated on the basis of Northern region, Western region, Eastern region, and the Mid-Western region. The creation of states began in 1967 with General Yakubu Gowon coming to power via a coup d\u2019\u00e9tat. He dissolved the regions and created twelve states out of them. Verification In verifying the authenticity of the post, our correspondent searched through the internet to find a traceable background link to the post, but no credible media outlet has reported any news about the purported bill. A twitter account owned by Ayo Akinfe (@AyoAkinfe), where the story was shared after it was posted on its website, created more clarification about the post.\u00a0 While responding to enquiries from our correspondent via his Twitter Direct message, on the purported bill which bears his name, he said, it was \u201cJust a proposal from me.\u201d  \u201cI intend to publish a collection of all my thoughts in a book,\u201d he added.   Akinfe who authored the piece said he writes 10-point columns every day on his website.  However, the London-based journalist said \u201cIgnore all those wayo people attributing it to the government.\u201d  Dubawa also reached out to the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu. In Garba\u2019s reaction, he described the report as \u2018unknown\u2019 and asked that the presidency be left out of it since it was not a draft bill from the presidency.  Conclusion The trending piece which has been attributed to the federal government is FALSE.  The author, Ayo Akinfe, clarified to Dubawa that he wrote the piece as a proposal in his column; hence, the \u2018Nigerian Economic Restructuring Bill 2021\u2019 is not a purported kite being flown by the Federal Government as widely circulated on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[120,1571,4],"tags":[1797,347,1798],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[1130],"class_list":["post-7621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-fact-check","category-featured","tag-economic-restructuring-bill","tag-featured","tag-nigerian-states"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-1YV","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":1130,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"alao-abiodun","display_name":"Alao Abiodun","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4046d9cbd560d0da521af53aff40403cb0d91670c3d498b554fc067539348754?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/the-map-of-nigeria.png?fit=1200%2C700&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7621"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=7621"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=7621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}