Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has renewed calls for the creation of an additional state in the South East, a move he says would correct the long-standing imbalance in Nigeria’s geopolitical structure.
He also championed the establishment of state police and the adoption of a rotational presidency system as part of the ongoing constitutional amendment process.
Mbah made these remarks on Thursday while receiving the Senate Committee on Constitution Amendment at the Government House in Enugu.
The committee was in the state for a courtesy visit ahead of the South East regional public hearing on constitutional reforms, scheduled to hold at the International Conference Centre, Enugu.
“One that excites us most is the idea of state policing. We have advocated ardently that there is need for states to create state police services, just as you have the federal police, but with defined jurisdictions and operational parameters,” the governor said.
“We think that this is overdue and there could not be better time for that given the fragilities we have in our various communities. The state police will be a truly welcome development in our Constitution.”
Highlighting perceived regional inequalities, Mbah stressed that the South East remains the only geopolitical zone with just five states, while others have six or more.
“The South East suffers injustice. The fact that across the different geopolitical zones, the South East is the only one with five states. So that is also what we believe will be corrected in this process of amendment,” he added.
He also backed the idea of a rotational presidency to ensure a more inclusive governance structure in the country.
“Of course, the idea of rotational presidency is important too. We think that, that obviously would provide South East and every other region a chance at the presidency,” he stated.
“So, these are areas we believe are commendable and we will be presenting our position formally in the hearing tomorrow and the subsequent days.”
In his earlier remarks, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi, the Senate Deputy Chief Whip and leader of the delegation, emphasized that the constitution review exercise was an opportunity for the South East to voice long-standing grievances.
“It goes without saying that the 1999 constitution has received a lot of criticism from Nigerians, including that it is the product of military dictatorship and, as such, does not represent the interest of all the segments that make up Nigeria,” Nwebonyi said.
“As a result of these criticisms, there is a need to alter the constitution from time to time.”
He expressed hope that the forum would allow the South East to address perceived injustices in the current structure.
“We pray that this engagement will afford us the people of South East the opportunity to right some wrongs as a result of the position of the 1999 constitution, which we the people of South East are crying foul that we are being marginalised in so many areas, particularly as it relates to the number of states, juxtaposing same with other geopolitical zones of Nigeria,” he added.
