Anambra Rep knocks proposal for Orlu State

Says proper consultations not made

The member representing Nnewi North/Nnewi South/Ekwusigo Federal Constituency of Anambra State, Hon Uzokwe Peter Ifeanyi, has knocked the proposal for the creation of Orlu State.

He said though he was not against the creation of another state for the Southeast, proper consultation was not made.

Penultimate Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill for first reading for the creation of Orlu State.

The bill was sponsored by the member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State,  Ikenga Ugochinyere.

According to the draft bill, the creation of Orlu State will alter the 1999 Constitution (as amended), increasing the number of states in the federation from 36 to 37

The new state will be carved out from Imo, Abia, and Anambra states, with Orlu as its capital city, it proposed.

But reacting to the development, Ifeanyi, expressed displeasure that his constituency was carved into the proposed new state even without letting him as representative of the people know.

He posited that the call for a new state was germane but should be done through the appropriate channels, especially through the Igbo leadership, Ohaneze Ndigbo.

He said his position did not reinforce any stereotypes about the Southeast not being united as disagreements on issues in any community is normal.

His words, “The issue of state creation has been the problem of Igbos, the South easterners. No Igboman will say that the Igbos don’t need a state to make up for the inequality of states in the country. Inasmuch as we need that state, the issue becomes where will the state be carved out from?

 “It’s only Anambra people that don’t because of the location of Anambra State. The best you can do is just to carve out something small. I don’t think between Enugu and Anambra, there is a place you will carve out. But from Abia, coming down to Owerri, Imo State, you can carve out between Abia and Imo, between Abia and Ebonyi, and lastly between Imo and some parts of Anambra State. So that has been the issue.

 “What happened today was that last Thursday, my brother and honourable member colleague submitted a bill proposing Orlu State. I don’t have anything against Orlu State but the issue is that if you want to carve out any state, you have to do due diligence, you have to consult widely. Can you imagine the embarrassment? My Igwe called me and asked me what happened. Were you there when Ozubulu was carved into Orlu? I said nobody consulted me.

 “I’m in the House with you. As a matter of fact, since I was elected, I have not missed more than three sittings, so I’m not an absentee honourable. You see me every day, you people can bear me witness. I have never been in the House five minutes past eleven. I must be seated five minutes to eleven. As a matter of fact, the Speaker had not entered that chamber before me and I was seated or standing to welcome him.

“So it is not a matter of you did not see me. But because you wanted to bypass me. I don’t know the reason. And taking Ozubulu out of Ekwusigo, are you taking the whole of Ekwusigo? Ozubulu has been the Local Government headquarters of Ekwusigo. You just came to Ekwusigo and picked out Ozubulu. Where will the headquarters of Ekwusigo be now? Will Ozubulu which has been the headquarters of a local government now go into Orlu to be a minority? Is it possible?

 “If he had approached me and consulted with me, we would sit down. But let it not be what happened in 1884/1885 which was the scramble for and the partitioning of West Africa, where somewhere in Berlin, Germany, you sat down, brought the map of West Africa on the table, and started carving. That was exactly what my honourable colleague did. Put that Anambra map, put that Imo map, and started carving it out as it pleased him. Will he have taken it if I come to his local town and pull it out? What explanation would be given to his people? Nothing. Just to embarrass me.

 “My thinking is simple and short. That we are here, our being here does not give us any superiority over the people who sent us. We have Ohaneze Ndigbo. They have been championing the cause of the creation of an additional state for Igbos. Shift it back to them. They are the elders. They will do it and bring it to us and tell us to push it. That is our job.

 “Ohaneze Ndigbo will do it, bring it to us as Southeast Caucus in the parliament. We have leaders. Then with one voice, we push on what is agreed on. But for us to come here as lawmakers because we have the power to make laws, then we start tinkering with the laws, creating new ones to suit the imagination we want. No! Things are not done like that.

 “I am not against the creation of an additional state but there should have been proper consultation. I would advise him to withdraw the bill and re-present it so all of us would support it. But the people of Ozubulu have taken a stand that they would not go under Orlu.”

He said the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, was passionate about the creation of an additional state for the Southeast.

He also said his position did not reflect any stereotype that the Southeast cannot work together.

He said, this is not a stereotype that the Southeast cannot work together.  We would disagree to agree. Forget about that stereotype. Which ethnic group in Nigeria speaks with one voice? Igbo people speak with one voice more than other ethnic groups in Nigeria.  Anybody that says Igbos don’t speak with voice is a lie. It is just stereotyping and labelling for them to get what they want. Is speaking with one voice the absence of disagreements? No. It is not. We can disagree. But so long as two human beings are into anything there must be disagreements.”

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