BREAKING: Apa State, others did not meet requirements for state creation – Deputy Speaker

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has revealed that none of the 30 proposals submitted for state creation have met the requirements stipulated under Section 8 of the Nigerian Constitution.

In a statement released on Friday through his media office, Kalu clarified that the National Assembly has not taken a definitive position on the matter but is committed to following constitutional procedures.

He explained that for a new state to be created, the Constitution mandates a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, the House of Representatives, state houses of assembly, and local governments.

Kalu stated that the National Assembly is open to working with applicants and urged them to revise and resubmit their proposals in compliance with constitutional guidelines.

“We are the people’s parliament. We are not taking any position on the issue of state creation,” he said. “There have been many interpretations of the letter that was read, and I want to set the record straight.”

He elaborated: “During the Ninth Assembly, we received numerous requests for state creation, submitted through private member bills and memoranda. In this Tenth Assembly, we have received 30 proposals—not 31 as some reports suggest. Ibadan State was mistakenly listed twice, making it 30.”

Kalu emphasized that none of the proposals have fulfilled the requirements of Section 8. He explained that this is why the National Assembly decided to inform the public about the gaps in the applications.

“The notice is simply to alert applicants that their submissions are incomplete,” he added. “We’ve given them until March 5 to address the deficiencies in their applications. This will ensure clarity when their requests are not considered—it will be clear that the issue arose from noncompliance with constitutional requirements.”

Kalu reiterated the parliament’s commitment to transparency and constitutional adherence in handling state creation requests.