Advocacy groups from Nigeria’s Northeast region have formally petitioned the Senate, seeking the creation of four new states to address long-standing issues of representation, development, and regional equity.
The proposed states—Savannah, Amana, Katagum, and Muri, are to be carved out of the existing Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Taraba States.
The demand was presented on Friday during a two-day zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution, held in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The constitutional review event attracted top regional political leaders, including Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum represented by his deputy, Usman Kadafur, all three senators from Borno, former Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Senator Abdul Ningi of Bauchi, and the Shehu of Borno, among other dignitaries.
Director of Media and Publicity for the Amana State Movement, Ahmad Sajor, said the agitation for statehood is rooted in the region’s decades-long experience of marginalisation and the need to correct what he called “a historical injustice.”
“There was a breach of trust by the Nigerian nation,” Sajor stated. “The area willingly chose to join Nigeria through a United Nations plebiscite conducted on February 11, 1961.
“The Late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and other Nigerian representatives assured us that the region would retain its identity as a province or state, with Mubi remaining a capital on par with Kano, Katsina, and Ilorin.
“Unfortunately, these promises were never fulfilled,” describing the call for Amana State as “a step towards correcting the injustice done to the people by the Nigerian state,” he added.
The hearing witnessed a strong turnout from supporters of the proposed states, many of whom wore printed shirts and held placards urging the National Assembly to consider and approve their demands.
One of the advocates for Katagum State told correspondents, “We are not asking for too much. We simply want Katagum State. We believe in the current National Assembly and are hopeful they will see reason and grant our request.”
