The Adada state creation agitation, Nigeria’s oldest, reached a milestone on Thursday, October 3, 2024, as it passed its first reading at the Federal House of Representatives. The bill, seeking to create Adada state from Enugu state, was introduced on the House floor. Titled “A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 1999 (AS AMENDED) TO CREATE A NEW STATE IN THE SOUTH EAST GEOPOLITICAL ZONE OF NIGERIA KNOWN AS ADADA STATE AND FOUR RELATED MATTERS,” it was sponsored by Hon. Atigwe Simon Chukwuemeka, member representing Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency, Hon. Martins Oke, Hon. Chidi Obetta, and Hon. Paul Nnamchi.
The bill aims to amend Section 3 of the 1999 Constitution, replacing “36” with “37” to accommodate the new state and adding “Adada” after “Abia” in the list of states. Adada state would comprise Nsukka zone; Igbo-Eze North, Igbo-Eze South, Igbo-Etiti, Udenu, Isi-Uzo, and Uzo-Uwani, with Nsukka as its capital.
As contained in Hon. Atigwe’s motion, representing Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal constituency and three others at the national assembly, the bill seeks to amend Section 3(1) and the first schedule, part 1, states of the Federation, of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), to provide for Adada state’s creation. This would bring the southeast’s state count to six, aligning with other geopolitical zones.
