National Assembly considers 55 new states, 278 more councils

The National Assembly has opened deliberations on wide-ranging constitutional reforms that could pave the way for the creation of 55 new states and 278 additional local government areas across the country.

The development was announced in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.

Speaking in Lagos at the opening of a two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Barau reaffirmed the legislature’s determination to deliver “people-centred and timely” constitutional amendments.

Barau, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, urged lawmakers to stay focused on their commitment to transmit the first batch of proposed amendments to state Houses of Assembly before the end of the year.

“It has been a long journey to bring the Senate and the House of Representatives’ Constitution Amendment proposals that cut across several sections and deal with different subject matters,” he said. “We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging our constituents, critical stakeholders, institutions, civil society organizations and interest groups in town hall meetings, interactive sessions and public hearings, harvesting and synthesizing views and perspectives which has ultimately culminated to what we have here today — 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments and 278 local government creation requests.”

He noted that lawmakers are expected to deliberate on the proposals and make recommendations to both chambers, expressing optimism that progress could be made during the two-day session.

“It is not going to be a simple task to achieve within two days, but I believe we can do it, especially as we have promised Nigerians that we will deliver the first set of amendments to the State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year,” Barau added.

Emphasising the need for patriotism and unity in the process, Barau—who also serves as the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament—called on participants to rise above divisive sentiments.

“We are seated here as one committee. There should be no ‘we’ and ‘them’; we should be guided by the interests of Nigerians. I wish all of us a very fruitful deliberation and hope for recommendations that will meet the approval threshold of the provisions of Section 9 of the Constitution,” he said.

Efforts to amend the 1999 Constitution have often struggled due to the rigorous procedures involved and the requirement for approval by at least two-thirds of the 36 state Houses of Assembly.

Previous attempts have been hindered by political differences, regional interests, and debates over resource control, state creation, and devolution of powers.

The last major constitutional review, undertaken by the Ninth National Assembly, achieved some success—such as passing bills on financial autonomy for state legislatures and the judiciary—but other proposals, including those on state police and local government autonomy, failed to pass due to lack of consensus.