By Iheanacho Nwosu and Fred Itua, Abuja.

The national conference yesterday rejected the request by some northern delegates that the decision on creation of 18 states be reviewed.

The delegates had engaged their southern counterparts in a battle for and against the list of 18 states approved for creation by the conference last week.

Dr. Haliru Bello specifically asked the leadership of the conference that the item on state creation and local government be removed from the minutes of last Thursday’s session but the request was overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates. Opposition to state creation by some northern delegates started shortly after the conference’s plenary kicked off. Delegates  from the North called for the review of decisions on state creation and removal of local government from the federation units.

At the end of deliberations on the report of the Committee on Political Restructuring co-chaired by General Ike Nwachukwu and Mohammed Kumalia delegates had voted in favour of creating additional states across the geo-political zones.

However, during the consideration of votes and proceedings of last Thursday’s deliberations, some delegates from the North called for total cancellation of vote on state creation and local governments.

Most of the delegates from the North, who spoke during the consideration, insisted that they were schemed out of state creation issues just as others, especially those from Katsina State asked for additional states from the state.

Delegates from the North Central zone also called for additional states from the zone, insisting that their zone was cheated in the new list.

Also from the South-West came calls for the creation of Oduduwa State. A traditional ruler from the zone, Oba Aderemi Adedapo, said an Oduduwa State was preferred to any other one to be created from the zone.

However, some northern delegates hinted on arresting the conference, now in its terminal days, if their position on state creation and local government were not carried.

The northern delegates insisted that the only thing the conference could do was to set the criteria for state creation and not announcing states that should be created.

The conference almost degenerated into a shouting match when Prof. Ibrahim Gambari called for decorum in the plenary.

He warned against abuse of voice vote in the conference especially on issues that affect the unity and security of the country reminding the delegates of efforts made by some elders of the conference to reconcile decisions of the conference to ensure transparency and accountability.

He also suggested steps that could be taken to take the conference to its conclusion, hinting that all northern delegates were committed to the progress and success of the conference.

He noted that it would not be helpful if the conference was pulled down over mundane issues.


Source: Sun