Anioma state: A political illusion in Nigeria’s fourth republic — by Michael Chibuzo
Agitation for state creation in Nigeria is as old as the country itself. Yet, before delving fully into the Anioma issue, it is important to take a brief historical detour to establish the background necessary for understanding the complexities surrounding contemporary state creation demands in Nigeria.
Since the Luggard amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914, Nigeria has witnessed only seven state-creation episodes:
1939 – Splitting of the Southern Province into Eastern and Western Provinces
1963 – Carving out of the Midwest Region from the Western Region
1967 – Creation of 12 states
1976 – Creation of 7 additional states, bringing the total to 19
1987 – Creation of 2 additional states (21 total)
1991 – Creation of 9 additional states (30 total)
1996 – Creation of 6 additional states (36 total)
Of these seven exercises, only the 1963 creation of the Midwest Region occurred DEMOCRATICALLY. The rest were enacted either under British colonial authority or military rule. The Midwest creation succeeded for several reasons. The agitation began in the 1940s when the colonial administration carved the Southern Province into only two subdivisions – Eastern and Western provinces – leaving various minority groups submerged within the Yoruba-majority Western Region.
Within this Western Region were the Edo, Urhobo, Isoko, Ijaw, Itsekiri, and the Anioma people, each with distinct identities and long-standing fears of marginalisation. Two leading pre-independence figures from these minority groups were Dennis Osadebay of the NCNC, who later served as Senate President (1960–1963), and Chief Anthony Enahoro of the opposition Action Group (AG). Alongside traditional rulers and allied political movements, they persistently championed the demand for a Midwest Region before both the British authorities and the Nigerian Parliament.
Osadebay was part of a broad coalition of prominent personalities including Chief Jereton Mariere (later Governor of the Midwest), Oba Akenzua II of Benin, James Ekpre-Otobo (later a federal minister), labour leader Michael Imoudu, Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh (successful businessman and later Minister of Finance), and several socio-political associations across Edo and Delta. From inception, the agitation was organised and had popular support from the minority tribes in the Western Region. The agitation was also geographically coherent with clearly defined boundaries, which is a crucial advantage absent in many of today’s state-creation campaigns in Nigeria.
Yet, even with popular support, these factors were insufficient to overcome the stringent constitutional requirements of the First Republic, particularly the need for a two-thirds majority in the Western Regional Parliament. Under normal political circumstances, such approval was nearly impossible.
A rare political window however, opened in 1962 amid the deep political crisis in the Western Region caused by the power struggle between the Awolowo and Akintola factions. Seizing this moment, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and his NPC, which dominated the federal parliament, activated the constitutional process for the creation of the Midwest Region. Their move enjoyed the support of President Nnamdi Azikiwe and the NCNC, which governed the Eastern Region under Michael Okpara and had longstanding ties to the Midwest agitation through their prominent member, Dennis Osadebay.
Ironically, both Balewa and Zik were too eager to help divide the Western Region, yet Balewa opposed the agitation for a Middle Belt Region in the North, and Zik similarly rejected the call for a COR (Calabar–Ogoja–Rivers) State from the East. Their alignment in 1963 was driven not by principle but by political convenience—the desire to weaken the Western Region, which was under opposition control.
With NPC/NCNC support, Balewa introduced the Midwest bill in the federal parliament, where it passed. A referendum followed on 13 July 1963 in areas that make up the proposed region; 89% of eligible voters approved the creation. The Western Regional Parliament, which by then was now firmly under Akintola’s control endorsed the referendum, and President Azikiwe signed the constitutional amendment creating the Midwest Region. Awolowo was already in prison by then.
Since that historic and opportunistic democratic moment, the well of state creation has effectively dried up. And unsurprisingly so.
The Anioma State Dream
Anioma State has often been proposed as a homeland for the Igbo-speaking population of Delta North. It is an idea rooted in cultural identity and periodically revived by political elites. Yet cultural sentiment alone cannot override the enormous constitutional, political, and structural obstacles standing in its way.
In truth, the probability of Anioma State emerging within Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is extremely slim—almost zero. The obstacles fall under three broad categories:
- The near-impossible constitutional hurdles
- The Asaba problem
- The absence of a viable national coalition
Let us examine these barriers.
- An Almost Impossible Constitution:
State creation in Nigeria is governed by Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution and is arguably the most rigid and prohibitive state creation provision in any federal constitution worldwide.
To create Anioma State, the following must happen:
(a) Local Approval
A request to the National Assembly must be endorsed by:
Two-thirds of Senators and House of Representative members from the affected area
Two-thirds of members of the Delta State House of Assembly – this alone is almost impossible because non-Anioma legislators in Delta State must vote to amputate their own state.
Two-thirds of local government councillors in the 9 LGAs that constitute Anioma.
(b) Local Referendum
Even after an unlikely local consensus has been achieved and the request officially gets to the national assembly, the proposal is subjected to a referendum, which must be approved by at least two-thirds of eligible voters in the proposed area.
(c) National Approval
A two-thirds majority of ALL the States of the Federation, which is equivalent to at least 19 states, with their Houses of Assembly, must approve the referendum results for the process to continue.
This is like threading a camel through the eye of a needle!
(d) National Assembly Passage
After miraculously getting the approval of at least 19 states, the proposal will then return to the national assembly where it can only be passed by two-thirds majority of votes in both chambers of the national assembly.
(e) Presidential Assent
After passing through these political seven mountains and seven valleys, the passed state creation bill of the National Assembly will have to be signed into law by the President. If the president withholds assent, it is back to square one or alternatively, the national assembly can attempt to override the veto in line with Section 58(5) of the Constitution by getting the support of at least two-thirds majority of members of both chambers. Under today’s political climate, this is functionally impossible.
- The Asaba Problem
The greatest structural obstacle to the realisation of the Anioma State is Asaba, the current capital of Delta State, which the proposed Anioma State would absorb.
If Anioma state were to succeed, this would leave Delta:
Without a capital and would be forced to build a new state capital from scratch;
Politically weakened;
Economically diminished and;
With reduced FAAC allocations including 13% oil derivation revenue.
No Nigerian state has ever willingly surrendered its capital or consented to a reduction in its political power. Delta state’s political elite have zero incentive to support an Anioma State. As a matter of fact, the Delta State House of Assembly, dominated by constituencies outside Anioma, would never approve such political suicide. The truth is that, Anioma is a campaign tool for those seeking elective posts from the zone just like some in the South East become BIAFRA advocates when NIGERIAN elections are near. Ironic.
- National Politics: No Viable Coalition
The broader national political context makes Anioma State even more difficult to realise. In Nigeria today, multiple regions including the Middle Belt, South East, North West and even the South West are all advancing competing state creation demands, such as Orlu, Adada, Urashi, Njaba, Aba, Ibadan, Gurara, Ogoja, Ogoni, Savannah, Ijebu, Ala, Apa, Lagoon states. None of these state creation proposals commands the political weight needed to secure nationwide consensus.
This is a far cry from the 1963 exercise where all stars aligned perfectly for the creation of the Midwest region thanks to the eagerness of the Northern region, led by Ahmadu Bello and Prime Minister Balewa, as well as, the Eastern region, to divide the Western region, which was under the control of the opposition. This North/East alliance made the outcome politically convenient in 1963.
Today, such alignment is absent. The North, which currently benefits from a numerical advantage in states and representation at the National Assembly, has little incentive to support new southern states that would add Senate and House seats to the South and potentially dilute its influence, while also affecting FAAC distribution.
Additionally, the argument that Anioma State would bolster the landmass of the South East, which is small geographically, adds to the barriers Anioma faces. While Anioma proponents within Delta state are still grappling to achieve local consensus, many in the South East zone are already including a yet-to-be-created Anioma state into the South East basket of states. Hilarious.
The reality is, while Anioma is culturally Igbo, it is administratively part of the South-South and is very unlikely to be reclassified if created. More importantly, stakeholders in the South East have consistently pushed for an additional state within their existing geopolitical zone, rather than one carved out of Delta State. This means Anioma State does not enjoy guaranteed political backing even from the region it is often assumed to strengthen.
CONCLUSION
In the end, the Anioma state project is more of a political illusion, just like many other similar state creation agitations. The 1999 Constitution erects legal mountains too steep for any modern state-creation effort to successfully climb; Delta’s political establishment has no rational incentive to amputate its capital, revenue base, or influence for an Anioma state; even the South East, which proponents often assume would champion the cause for Anioma, is focused on securing a state within its own zone, not necessarily importing one from Delta.
When all these realities are added together, the conclusion becomes unavoidable: Anioma State is not just unlikely, it is, under Nigeria’s current political conditions, effectively impossible. An illusion actually.
