The Senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, has said that the lingering unrest in the South-East region can only end if the Federal Government creates one more state and release the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’ on Sunday night, Nwoko argued that successive administrations had failed to address the deep-rooted sense of marginalisation in the region, which, according to him, fuels the recurring agitation for secession.
“The problem in the South-East has to do with the perceived injustice by successive governments,” the lawmaker said. “So, what needs to be done, and it’s one of the reasons I am here today, is the creation of a new state to make up the number to six, and then the release of Nnamdi Kanu. By the time you do these two things, I am almost certain that peace will return to the South-East.”
The South-East currently has five states, the least among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, and has in recent years witnessed violent agitations by IPOB members seeking an independent Biafran nation.
Nwoko, who is spearheading the campaign for the creation of Anioma State out of the present Delta State to serve as the sixth state in the South-East, said the move would correct long-standing structural imbalances and give the Igbo a fairer sense of belonging in the federation.
He added that the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has already approved the creation of an additional state in the region, expressing optimism that Anioma would be chosen.
“Now, what has happened is that the National Assembly has put together a committee to decide which state to choose. There are about seven states from the South-East, and we are one of them. At the public hearing in Enugu, we also presented our case, so I am almost certain that we will be chosen,” he stated.
On the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since his re-arrest in June 2021, Nwoko described it as unjust, insisting that his release was vital to achieving peace in the region.
“Kanu’s incarceration is the main reason for the unrest in the South-East,” he said, joining the growing number of voices calling for a political solution to the matter.
The lawmaker also expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu would give his approval to the creation of Anioma State, saying it would be “the best gift from the President to the people of Anioma and the Igbo in general.”
If realised, Anioma would become the sixth state in the South-East, a development Nwoko believed could finally end decades of agitation and restore calm across the region.
