A bill for the creation of Adada State, which was sponsored by Distinguished Senator Okey Ezea (LP, Enugu North) yesterday passed through the first reading on the floor of the Nigerian Senate.

The bill, which has been cited as the “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2024 (SB. 482)”, seeks to amend Section 3(1) and the First Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide for the creation of Adada State to bring the number of South-East states to six (6); that would enable the South-East to be at par with the other geopolitical zones of the country.

According to a statement issued by the senior special adviser, media to the senator, Aniebo Nwamu, the agitation for the creation of Adada state dates to 1983 when the senator representing Nsukka senatorial zone in the Second Republic, Engr. Isaiah Ani, presented a bill.

Expectations were high after the 2014 Constitutional Conference had recommended that an additional state be created in the South-East.

Although there have been proposals for the creation of other states out of the geopolitical zone over the years, none has been as acceptable and as qualified as Adada.