2

Torkwase Nyiekaa

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, PhD, CFR, alongside a host of other senior legislators, is set to meet with advocates of a proposed new state in the South East as part of ongoing efforts to address the region’s demand for equitable state representation.

The consultative meeting, scheduled for November 14, 2025, will take place in one of the South East state capitals and is expected to draw a diverse group of key players from the region. Participants will include members of the National Assembly, state governors, presiding officers of state Houses of Assembly, federal ministers, and heads of government agencies.

In a statement signed by Levinus Nwabughiogu, Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, it was disclosed that the forum would serve as an avenue for proponents of the new state to formally present their case while giving stakeholders an opportunity to reach a collective position ahead of constitutional consideration in the National Assembly.

This development follows a strategic session held earlier in the week between the Deputy Speaker and members of the South East Caucus of the Senate, chaired by Senator Osita Isunaso. During the meeting, lawmakers resolved to adopt a unified stance on the issue of state creation before it is tabled for deliberation and voting at the federal legislature.

A similar consultative engagement had previously taken place in the House of Representatives, where members agreed to broaden the discussions to include their counterparts in the Senate to ensure wider consensus.

It will be recalled that at a recent retreat of the Joint Constitution Review Committee of both chambers, co-chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jubrin Barau, and Deputy Speaker Kalu, in Lagos, the committee gave its nod to the establishment of an additional state in the South East to bring the region in line with others across the federation.