A bill for the creation of Adada State passed its first reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday.
The bill, which has been cited as the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2024 (SB. 482)”, seeks to amend Section 3(1) and the First Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for the creation of Adada State to bring the number of South-East states to six to be at par with the other geopolitical zones of the country.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Okey Ezea, representing Enugu North Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
The agitation for the creation of Adada state dates to 1983 when the senator representing Nsukka Senatorial Zone in the Second Republic, Engr. Isaiah Ani, presented a bill on the subject matter.
Expectations were high after the 2014 Constitutional Conference had recommended that an additional state be created in the South-East.
Although there have been proposals for the creation of other states out of the geopolitical zone over the years, none has been as acceptable and as qualified as Adada.