Nigerians across all walks of life have asked the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review to perish the idea of creating more states in the country.
According to the citizens, establishment of additional states in the country when most of the existing ones are struggling to pay salaries, tackle hunger and engender good governance, is adding more woes on the suffering masses.
In their separate interviews with The Point on Thursday, some Nigerians expressed concerns over the news that the green chamber is considering creating 31 new states in the country.
Rather, they charged the federal lawmakers to come up with ways to address worsening hardship and create more jobs for jobless citizens.
A civil servant in Osun State who did not want to be named argued that more states in the nation should be merged since most governors still struggle to pay salaries.
He said, “I was baffled reading the news that the legislative arm is trying to of create additional states. Sometimes I wonder if these lawmakers live in this country and know what people are battling with. In a situation where most governors find it difficult to pay minimum wage, some people are talking of bringing more states to bear. It is a misplaced priority that should not be allowed to stand.”
Other speakers described the move to add to the list of states in Nigeria as an invitation to problem and opportunities for politicians to continue milking the nation’s scare resources.
For Thomas Akindele, a self employed Lagosian, “The National Assembly cannot propose the creation of industries and jobs for the people, but creation of state? This is what you get when you take your grandfathers from the villages to come and lead you.”
A businessman in Ondo State, Joshua Emelobe, stated, “These people (lawmakers) just want to create problem. When we should be talking about merging the existing states that have proved not viable over time, some not-so-engaged reps members are talking about creating 31 more states in Nigeria.”
Mattins, a trader in Abuja canvassed for states to be allowed to depend solely on the resources in the states, saying, “That is because we don’t allow states to function on their own. The moment the government allows all states to control their resources and manage their affairs, our economy will improve. States with oil will manage their oil, lazy governors will no longer wait for allocation from the federal government.”
He added, “The last thing the country needs now is the creation of more states. Are these politicians even aware of the general hardship in the country. They should be proposing ways to counter poverty and create more jobs.”
A fashion designer in Osogbo, who simply identified herself as Rebecca, said, “If Nigeria is broke and there is not enough money to alleviate the suffering of the people, where will the money to administer the new states come from? And how will the agitation for new states down the line be handled? I don’t believe this is in the interest of the people.”
Meanwhile, a citizen, Marcus Ibenje, differed from earlier respondents, saying creation of more states would reshape the nation.
“The proposal to create 31 additional states in Nigeria is a significant move that could reshape the country’s political and administrative structure. If approved, it would have major implications for governance, resource allocation, and representation,” he contented.
The Point had reported that if the lawmakers’ proposal scales through, the Nigerian state will be made up of 67 sub-national governments.
The proposal for new states was contained in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary session by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the session in the absence of the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.
The committee chaired by Kalu proposed six new states for North Central, four in the North East, five in the North West, five in South East, four in South-South and seven in South West.
