State Creation: Why Kano Should Be Split Into 5, Ex-Buhari's Aide Gives Reason

• Former President Muhammadu Buhari's ex-aide Bashir Ahmad has advocated for the splitting of Kano into five state
• Ahmad made the proposition in a social media post while reacting to the 31 additional new states at the National Assembly
• Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, during the plenary Thursday, disclosed that the House Committee on Constitutional Review received the proposals

Kano - Bashir Ahmad, the former special assistant to the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, has called for the division of Kano into five states.

The former presidential aide made the call while reacting to the proposed 31 additional new states by the House of Representatives.

House of Reps proposed 31 new states

The House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review during plenary on Thursday, February 6, disclosed that it has received proposals for the creation of 31 new states in the country.

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Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the chamber, during the plenary session, disclosed the development, while reading the letter of the committee which contained the proposed states.

Nigeria is expected to move from 36 states to 67 if the proposal for the state creation is approved.

How ex-Buhari's aide reacted to state creation

Reacting to the development, Ahmad took to his social media page and said Kano should be split into five, citing the huge population of the centre of commerce. His tweet reads:

"With the National Assembly's proposal to create 31 new states in Nigeria, I strongly believe Kano, with its population nearing 20 million, deserves to be split into at least five states for better governance, development, and equitable resource distribution."

State creation: How Nigerians reacted to Ahmad's proposal

Some Nigerians have taken to the comment section of the tweet and expressed their reactions to the former presidential aide's position. Below are some of their reactions:

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Lannister Aspiration commented:

"Dissolution of power. True Federalism. Anything outside these is ruthless and delusional political deception. The real problem isn't in forming new states, but rather in how power is distributed."

Sarkin Yaki na Baba Buhari wrote:

"That bill will never see daylight In Shaa Allah.. we have 36 states, yet many states still struggling to even generate IGR, depending on FG allocation. This will only favour the powerful few, while we, the powerless keep living in poverty! This is never an achievement or development for our economy."

Gene Worifah reacted:

"Why not create 1000 states, every village has its state. Nigeria had only three regions at Independence with devolved powers to local governments that worked well. How has 36 states with no real powers worked so far?"

Stephen Enunwah opined:

"That way the Northern region has more control in the National Assembly. Things are fine the way they are or we start splitting up the middle belt states as well. Besides, Kano is fine the way it is, there's isn't much industrialisation that one person cannot oversee."

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Abubakar Ameen tweeted:

"Splitting Kano into smaller states could improve governance, development, and resource distribution, given its large population. However, it's crucial to consider administrative, financial, ethnic, and economic implications before making a decision."

See the tweet here:

State creation: Some local governments should also be divided - Analyst

Public affairs analyst and lawyer, Amadi Anyakweh Miracle Esq has disclosed that some local government areas are too large to exist as one.

Speaking to Legit.ng, he said the disparity in the number of local government areas between states in the north and those in the south-south is a significant concern.

As he put it:

"Some states in the north have over 44 local government areas, while some states in the south-south have eight local government areas, 13 and so forth — like Bayelsa and Ebonyi. You'd be wondering how - they're all states."

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Amadi stressed that equal representation is essential, and the creation of states should not be the only solution.

He added:

"To me, it shouldn't just be limited to states, it should extend to creation of additional local government areas. There are some that are just too big - there is need to divide those local government areas. They should be severed.”

Stakeholder reacts to state creation in Southwest

Legit.ng earlier reported that the House of Representatives has moved to divide Oyo state into Ibadan and Oyo, respectively, and both towns would also remain the capitals of the new state.

However, a concerned stakeholder and legal practitioner, Wale Adeagbo, said the proposal for the Oyo state would not bring the desired oneness.

The Ibadan-born lawyer, while speaking with Legit.ng, questioned why the Oyo would retain the state and the capital and foresaw another quest for Oke-Ogun state in the future of Oyo.

Source: Legit.ng