The Senator representing Delta North senatorial district, in the National Assembly, Prince Ned Nwoko, has added pressure to the strident calls for the creation of an additional state in the Southeast region of the country.
Senator Nwoko advocated this while hosting executives of the Greater Igbo Forum Worldwide led by its President Lois Jonathan that paid him a visit in Abuja, saying, “Doing so will bring it at par with other geopolitical zones in the country that have six states each”.
“The bottom line is that we have a state that is wholly your people, you can do anything to promote and preserve your culture. So, what you have come to tell me is exactly what I’m fighting for. Fighting for Igbos in our area. I’m fighting for the expansion of Igboland. I’m fighting for the promotion of our cultural tradition. And we are looking at how we can get insecurity resolved. The only way we can resolve insecurity is to address those issues that gave rise to it”, he said.
He explained that his commitment to the creation of Anioma state is also in the interest of Ndigbo, while pledging support for the Summit to be hosted by the Forum on the 9th and 10th of October, 2024 and promised to always support the organization in its activities.
Nwoko, who lauded the group for its efforts towards the preservation and projection of the Igbo culture and pursuing the interest of the people, adding that Anioma State creation aims at preserving the Igbo culture and values.
The lawmaker also called for an end to the problem of insecurity and urged that dialogue be adopted as the best means to address the problem, saying there is a need to address the root causes that led to the problem.
He also said it would also not be ideal to carve the proposed state from any part of the existing southeast states, insisting that Igbo land should be expanded.
Earlier the President of the Forum, Ambassador Lois Jonathan, said the visit was to intimate the lawmaker on the upcoming summit slated for October.
She said the Summit aims at addressing the scourge of insecurity in the south east due the problem of unknown gunmen and seek ways of addressing it.
“This is with the aim of ensuring the region regains its pride of place as a peaceful and thriving part of the country, and the organization was aimed at promoting Igbo values and culture, pursuing its interests as well as redefining and promoting a proper image of Ndigbo to the world.”
