Demand for the creation of Adada State continued on Friday as the National Assembly held its public hearing for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
Leading the demand is former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Nnia Nwodo.
He told the National Assembly that the proposed Adada state out of the present Enugu state is the most competent among other proposed states in the south east.
According to him, Adada has met the constitutional provision for creation of state by the act of parliament and for subsequent presentation for referendum to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This is as the Chairman of the Adada State Movement, Chief James Ugwu disclosed that the request for the creation of Adada state started immediately after the Nigeria civil war when it was presented to the then Head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, in 1970.
In addition, the Senator representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Senator Okey Ezea said that the proposal for the Adada state creation has met the relevant section of the 1999 constitution and recommended it for approval by the National Assembly.
The Adada stakeholders made the disclosures during the Senate’s South East zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution in Enugu, on Friday.
According to Nwodo, section 8-(1) of the constitution stipulates that the National Assembly can create a new state through an Act, but only if a request supported by at least two-thirds of the members representing the area seeking the new state in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as in the relevant State Houses of Assembly, is made.
Submitting a proposal for the amendment of the constitution to allow for the creation of Adada state, Nwodo further said that the demands of section 8 (1) of the constitution has been met by his people, displaying where all relevant legislators in the affected parts of Enugu state, including councilors, House of Assembly members and National Assembly members had all signed in concurrence for the creation of the proposed Adada state.
Nwodo recalled that Adada state was already recommended for creation by the 2014 constitutional conference under Justice Idris Kutige as the only state slated for creation, stressing that Adada is that most viable prospective state in the south Eastern part of Nigeria with its abundant human and natural resources.
He reflected that Adada is the most agitated state in Nigeria that remains denied even after every other province in the country has been awarded with states, except for Nsukka province.
Nwodo stated that in particular, Adada or the old Nsukka zone has remained the only colonial zone in the northern Igbo land that has not been made a state capital whereas the southern parts of the Igbo land has attracted three states leaving its northern counterpart with only two states.
He argued that equity demands that if any other state should be created in the south east, Adada should be given utmost priority with its agitation dating back to 1983 in the floor of the senate, before any other proposing state in the zone.
Nwodo said, “There are several reasons for the creation of Adada state. One, in the south east, in the last creation of states, the northern part of Igbo, comprising Enugu and Ebonyi ended up with states while the rest of the southern parts of Igbo land got three states. When you share things among your children and there is no equity you bring anger and desperation.
“Number two, Igbos are a very important people of this country; our population is grossly underestimated because more than 50 percent of the Igbo live outside Igboland. There is no part of this country that you go to and the majority of the population outside the indigenous population is not Igbo.
“It is our enterprise, our ways of life, it is our anxiety to break new grounds and most of these people register themselves in the states where they are.
“The state that we ask for, Adada state has seven out of the 17 local governments in Enugu state. Six of the local governments are in Adada and one in Enugu East senatorial zone. We suffered serious injustice in the creation of constituencies here because as usual no Nsukka man was in the federal executive. Now, you will be surprised that out of the 17 local governments in Enugu state, we have only six but we have 54 percent of the population. So the other two senators represent 22 percent each and our own senator represents 52 percent because they took away one local government to make up a senatorial zone.
“Therefore, for anybody in Igbo south to ask for a state here is an injury. When we started this movement was after Abia, Imo and Anambra were created.
“We approached the national assembly under David Mark, under Ahmed Lawal and they gave us attention and considered our programmes and submissions but the government in power did not have state creation as paramount agenda as you appear to have now.
“We are hoping that your efforts will give us dividends. We approached the national Constitutional conference in 2014 under Justice Idris Kutige who recommended the creation of Adada state.
“The only state it recommended here was Adada state. When Achike Udenwa was the Governor of Imo state, the entire Igbo met in Imo to choose one state and after a very long meeting they came to a resolution that it is Adada state and that resolution up till today has not been revised. Adada is the whipping and neglected part of the south east.
“I told you that we were not represented in the federal executive council. It was Silas Ilo and Jim Nwobodo at the time the local governments were created and they gave us six local governments. Imagine 54 percent of the state with six local governments. This is unfair and Daniel has come to judgment with this National Assembly committee.
“The potential for Adada state is vast, we have oil and Gas reserves. Anambra state is horizontally drilling our oil in Uzo-Uwani, we have the potential for viability, economically. We have extensive land for agriculture; we have a navigable sea whose confluence ends in rivers Niger and Benue.
“In manpower resources, we have one of the best universities, thanks Nnamdi Azikwe, and our people took to education and so we have many professors who can manage the state. I do hope that I have appealed to your conscience.”
Justifying the competency of Adada state creation, the Chairman of Adada State Movement, Chief James Ugwu stated that he was in possession of a request presented in 1970 to the then Nigeria Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, for the creation of Adada state.
He maintained that the creation of Adada state will resolve the internal imbalance in Igbo land with the northern Igbo (Wawa people) having three states to be at par with its southern flank of Igbo land that already has three states, while resolving the external imbalance of the south east having six states as other regions in Nigeria.
“So what we are saying is that having met the provision of section 8 (1) of the 1999 constitution, the next thing is that our request should be sent to the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) for referendum.
“Again in Enugu state, it’s not just that the Governor (Peter Mbah) is doing well, not just that he won his election but he is performing more than any other Governor.”
The Senator representing Enugu North senatorial district, Senator Okey Ezea said that Adada is unarguably the only province in Nigeria that has not been made a state, agreeing that the proposed Adada state is also the only proposing state that has met the provisions of section 8 sub-section 1(a) of the 1999 constitution.
