Chekwas Okorie Highlights Challenges of New State Creation in Nigeria, Compares It to Biblical Analogy

Elder statesman and coordinator of Igbo Agenda Dialogue, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has described the creation of a new state in Nigeria as “the most difficult thing to achieve at this point.”

Speaking during a meeting of the Igbo Agenda Dialogue in Abuja on Wednesday, Okorie cited the 1999 Constitution as a major obstacle, likening the difficulty of creating a new state to a camel passing through the eye of a needle.

He argued that successive governments have shown little sincerity in addressing structural imbalances in the country.

“After the Sani Abacha administration, there was a National Conference where the Igbo were fully represented. Leaders like Odumegwu Ojukwu and Alex Ekwueme contributed significantly, but many have since passed on,” Okorie said.

He recalled that the conference recommended dividing Nigeria into six geopolitical zones—a proposal pursued by Dr. Alex Ekwueme—but a subsequent military committee, headed by a northern law professor, altered the recommendations, removing the six-zone proposal.

“Another conference was later held, and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar’s government imposed the 1999 Constitution, which only uses the six geopolitical zones when convenient. It does not exist in law,” he added.

Okorie emphasized that the Igbo people have made every effort to address these issues, including submitting detailed memoranda to the national conference. However, he argued, attempts to restructure or amend the constitution have largely been symbolic, intended to placate citizens rather than bring meaningful change.

“The constitution includes provisions that make it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to create a new state. That is why no civilian government has been able to establish a new state, or even alter local government boundaries,” he explained.

He cited the experience of the current President, Bola Tinubu, who, as Governor of Lagos State, tried to create more local governments, only for them to be redesignated as Development Centers and for his state allocations to be affected under then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

“So it is not that the Igbo have not tried. What have we not tried?” Okorie questioned, highlighting the enduring structural challenges facing the region.