Charles Onyekamuo
10 May 2008
Onitsha — Former Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, has said that the creation of an additional state in the South East will make for fairness, justice and equity in the Nigerian polity.
Mbadinuju told THISDAY in an interview in Onitsha that "even President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua said when he visited Owerri, the Imo state capital, recently that there was injustice meted out to the South East with a promise that his administration will redress the anomaly in the zone."
He said the South-east zone had lost a lot since the history of creation of states in the country considering that recruitments into the federal civil service, Military and Para-military organisations, sharing from the federation account, and even representation into the National Assembly are done on the basis of states and local governments.
"It is the number of states in each zone, number of local governments in each zone, so on and so forth that is the basis for allocation, recruitments into Federal Government offices, Military and Para-military organisations, and even election into the National Assembly. Look, let me tell you, everybody was saying that when I was in office, I was not paying salaries or that schools were closed down.
"How many local governments do we have? Okay, look at Kano State today, how many local governments do they have and the money disbursed is based on these criteria, number of local governments and states as I said before. So, we are still at the receiving end and we have never been treated as equals in this country. There is no need keeping quiet when injustice abounds," he said.
The former governor said there are many proposals for creation of more states in the South East but that even when everybody in the zone is free to agitate, there are some of the proposals that should command more attention.
In the circumstance and given historical development in the zone, Mbadinuju said since Ebonyi State was created out of Enugu and Abia states, it will be unfair to create another state from that axis without considering a new state from some local governments in Imo and Anambra State axis from where none has been created.
This scenario he said makes him believe that the state being agitated for in the South East which has the best chance of being created is the proposed 'Njaba' state which comprises local governments from Orlu zone in Imo and Anambra States.
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