In a joint statement, Chairman HRH Eze Love Wogu and Secretary-General Godfrey Ihechinyere Akara of the Aba State Movement described the campaign as Nigeria’s longest-standing and most persistent state creation effort.

They stressed that the push is not a fleeting political maneuver but a 100-year struggle grounded in unique ethnic and administrative identity.

“The journey began in 1915 when British colonial authorities merged the Asa, Ndoki, and Ngwa peoples into the Aba Division,” the group stated.”

Political agitation for autonomy formally started in 1927. The movement gained significant traction in 1983 when the National Assembly, under civilian rule, approved a referendum for Aba State.

“That referendum was aborted by the military coup of December 31, 1983. Notably, every other state recommended alongside Aba that year, Adamawa, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi, Taraba, and Enugu has since been created, leaving Aba as the sole unfulfilled pledge.”This is not merely a request, it’s a promise repeatedly affirmed by authorities yet never honored,” the movement asserted.

Beyond history, the group highlighted Aba’s economic powerhouse status. Centered on the bustling Aba metropolis and the iconic Ariaria International Market, the proposed state is a dominant hub for leather products, footwear, and engineering fabrications, supplying markets throughout West and Central Africa.