Senators, stakeholders are in support of creation of Anioma state, says Nwoko

Sen. Ned Nwoko says Senators from Delta, South East and other stakeholders were in total support for the creation of Anioma state.

Nwoko, who represents Delta -North said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)in Abuja on Wednesday.

It was reported that the bill to create Anioma state passed first reading in the Senate on July 2.

The bill sponsored by Nwoko seeks to alter provisions of 1999 Constitution as amended to create Anioma state.

Nwoko had said that the south-east geopolitical zone currently has five states, unlike its counterparts, except for the North- West, which has seven states.

Nwoko said the creation of Anioma state has received wide support from major stakeholders.

“The senators from Delta South and Delta Central, Sen. Joel-Onowakpo Thomas and Sen. Ede Dafinone are in support of the creation of the state. For me, that is a big support.

“I have gotten support from most of the senators from the south east as well and I know that I will get support from across the country.”

“The Izu Anioma, which is the umbrella group of all Anioma are saying we want it, the Ikpe Anioma say we want it.”

Nwoko dismissed report by a group alleging that he not did consult widely before presenting the bill for first reading.

He said: “I did wide consultation and I am still open for consultations”.

He said the call for creation of Anioma state was timely and has to happen for various reasons.

According to him, the eventual creation will address years of concerns, challenges of Ndigbo in Nigeria.

“The most important one is that there is the urgent need to address the injustice, the years of crying of marginalisation by Ndigbo generally.

“It is a huge population in Nigeria, but they only have five states.

“It is a very long fight, the quest for Anioma has taken 50 years, from the time of Dennis Osadebe.

“There may not be many states created in Nigeria under this dispensation, but certainly, there is an urgent need to create one to address the imbalance.

“It is hoped that when it is done it will assuage the cries of the Igbo people.

“So it is only equitable that it is done because it will deal with the crisis, the killings, the violence, the sit at home issues among other issues.”

He said there was the need to bring a lasting solution to issues in the region.

“We have a president who is determined to right the wrongs of the past, because it is important to do so and the government wants to solve the problem of the south east.”