The House of Representatives has introduced a bill aimed at creating an additional state, to be named Etiti State, in the South East.
The bill, titled “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2024 (HB. 1525),” was sponsored by Rep Amobi Godwin Ogah and four others, passing its first reading at the plenary on Tuesday.
The co-sponsors of the bill include Rep Princess Miriam Odinaka Onuoha (Okigwe/Onuimo), Rep Kama Nkemkama, Rep Princess Chinwe Nnabuife, and Rep Anayo Onwuegbu.
The bill proposes to amend three sections of the 1999 Constitution by replacing the word “36” with “37” to accommodate the new state and inserting “Etiti” immediately after “Enugu” in the list of states in the constitution.
Etiti State would be created from parts of the current Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, encompassing 11 local government areas with Lokpanta as the headquarters.
The bill also seeks to reclassify the listing of local governments according to states, transferring the 11 affected local government areas to the new state.
The local government areas to be included in Etiti State are Isuikwuato and Umu-Nneochi (Abia), Orumba North and Orumba South (Anambra), Ivo and Ohaozara (Ebonyi), Aninri, Agwu, and Oji River (Enugu), as well as Okigwe and Onuimo (Imo).
