Nigerian National Conference Voted.

The National Conference on Thursday voted for the
creation of 18 more states in the country. The
creation of new states was one of the decisions
taken by the delegates at their plenary while
considering the report of the Committee on Political
Restructuring and Forms of Government.
Apart from the 18 new states proposed, the
conference said a separate state-yet-to-be named
should be carved out of the South-East to bring the
number of the states in the zone to six.
In creating a new state from the South-East
geopolitical zone, the conference said the creation
would correct the imbalance of the zone having the
least number of states.

In the existing 36 states arrangement, each zone has
six states with only the North-West having seven
states.
The new states proposed by the conference are:
Aba, to be carved out of the present Abia State;
Katagum, from Bauchi State; Ijebu, from Ogun State;
Amana, from former Sardauna Province; Apa, from
Benue State; Anioma, from Delta State, Savannah,
from Borno State; and Etiti, from South-East.
Others are Njaba/Anim, from Anambra and Imo
states; Gurara, from Kaduna State; Ghari, from Kano
State; Adada, New Oyo from Oyo State; Orachi, from
Rivers State; Ogoja, from Cross River State; and
Kainji, from Kebbi and Niger states.
Two other states, one each from the South-East and
South-West zones, are also yet to be named.
It was agreed by the delegates that the 18 new
states would be shared among the six zones in a
manner that no zone would have more states than
the other.
Though it was also agreed that states were free to
have their constitutions, the request to change the
name of Adamawa State to Gongola State was
overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates.
The delegates also voted that the Presidency should
rotate among the six geopolitical  zones of the
country.
However, a delegate, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN,
condemned the decision to create more states.
He said the action was at variance with the decisions
and resolutions earlier taken by the conference on
the need by government to cut cost. Having regard to the several resolutions of the
National Conference on the need to reduce the cost
of governance, I found the recommendation for the
creation of additional 18 states rather contradictory,
Falana said...