State creation divides delegates; Senate confirms Shekarau, Adeyeye others, as ministers

The clamour for state creation pitted delegates against one another at the ongoing National Conference in Abuja. Intensive debate on Wednesday greeted the Report of the National Conference Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government, presented to the Conference on Tuesday by the Committee’s co-chairmen, General Ike Nwachukwu and Hon Mohammed Kumalia.

Although the Committee’s recommendations are yet to be adopted by the Conference, high on the list is the creation of additional state for the South East geo-political zone, to place it on the same level with other zones.

Some delegates claimed that it was wrong for the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government to have recommended for the creation of one state for the South-East alone without anything for the other zones.
The report of the committee says, 'There shall be created an additional state for the South-East zone and that all other requests for state creation should be considered on merit.'

There were 34 requests for state creation before the committee while a request was made to change the name of Adamawa State to Gongola State.

A delegate, who was a former Minister of Industry, Chief Nike Akande, canvassed for the creation of another state from the present Oyo State.

Meanwhile, The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of a former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, Adedayo Adeyeye (Ekiti), Dr. Stephen Orhu (Delta), and Dr. Abdul Bulama (Yobe) as ministers.

The nominees, who answered questions from the senators on the state of the nation, agreed that an urgent review of the country’s education curriculum remained the best way to tackle unemployment, poverty and insurgency.