South-East lawmakers at NASS urged to work for success of Anioma state creation bill

Cosmas Agada, patron of Ndi Na Asu Bia Socio-Cultural Organization, has urged the South-East legislators at the National Assembly to work for the success of the proposed Anioma State Creation Bill.

The bill, which will establish Anioma as the sixth state of the South-East Zone, is presently at the caucus stage where the lawmakers’ considerations are seriously needed.

“Let the legislators work towards the realisation of this great bill,” said Agada, shortly after the solidarity rally embarked upon by a coalition of Anioma People in Delta and Edo States, recently in Asaba, the Delta State Capital.

The people drawn from the nine LGAs that make up Delta-North, namely Oshimili South and North, Ndokwa East and West, Aniocha North and South, Ukwuani, Ika South and Ika North-East, had at the rally passed a vote of confidence in the bill. They demonstrated their total support for the creation of Anioma State which would be zoned to the South-East geopolitical zone of the country.

They were joined in the rally by the Igbanke and other Ika-speaking communities in Edo State, demanding to be included in the proposed new state. They appealed to President Bola Tinubu and Governor Sheriff of Delta State to use their good offices to make the Anioma State a reality.

The essence of the rally, it was learnt, was to counter the impression created by some leaders and lawmakers of Delta-North who recently declared support for Anioma State that would remain in the South-South.

Agada, who is from the South-East, in an interview, told newsmen that Anioma State creation was a pathway to reclaiming lost Igbo territories.

He regretted the setbacks that had greeted the bill but declared, “In as much as there are some disappointments here and there, on the average, the process is still on cause.”

While appealing to the South-East leaders to work towards the success of the bill, he stated, “The Ohanaeze Ndigbo has endorsed Anioma State, I give them kudos and we are very grateful to them. We are pleading with South-East Legislators, to see reasons to work for the success of the bill.

“Everybody should forget about personal interest and look at the overall interest of the Igbo people and create Anioma State as a first step towards bringing back our people who are marooned to other zones.

“We are appealing to the South-East legislators because at the moment, the bill is at the caucus stage where considerations and votes of the lawmakers matter a lot on which among the proposed states before the National Assembly should be approved.

“We know that the governors have influence over their states and the legislators, that is when the bill comes to the concurrence stage but for now, it is in the hands of the South-East Legislators to see to the success of this great bill,’ he said.

How the push on Anioma State Creation began under the present dispensation

Agada recalled, “We heard that the House of Representatives was asking for a Referendum on the Constitution Amendment. We drafted our own memoranda on Anioma State Creation and Boundary Adjustment to bring all the Igbo people (Igbo communities) who were marooned to other zones back to the South-East.

“We have Igbo-speaking people in Benue, Kogi, Edo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom states, etc, Boundary adjustments would bring them out, to joining Igbo states.

“So, we submitted the two memoranda to the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Amendment. After that, we tried to meet some legislators. We were not all that successful with meeting them.

“We decided to send our leadership – Chief Kingsley Onyenmadu Kainebi (president) and Benjamin Atagana-Ofochi Esq (secretary) to meet the Distinguished Senator Ned Nwoko representing Delta North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, and pleaded with him to champion the cause, which he accepted.

“Since then, Senator Ned Nwoko took it up. He redrafted the memorandum and pushed it to the Senate and we are backing him the much we can till today.

“We look up to the creation of Anioma State. Whether they give us Anioma State or Anim-Oma State, the important thing is to see that people in Edo and Delta are given a state that they still control,” he said, adding, “That is our interest and I will prefer Anioma State that will have a capital in Asaba.”

Senator Ned Nwoko in pushing the bill has consistently assured the people that the new state would emerge despite the forces against it.

He had severally recalled that the late Prof Dennis Osadebay, the president of the Nigerian Senate and former Governor of the Mid-Western Region in 1963, had fought for the realisation of Anioma State but was unsuccessful. He believes that with the support of the people and all stakeholders this time, Anioma State Creation is a done deal.

Agada and his group in alignment with Senator Nwoko are still calling for unity among the people. Let every form of selfishness be jettisoned for the realisation of this project that would greatly benefit them as a people politically, culturally and economically, amongst others.