Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu and other lawmakers in the House and Senate are to meet with proponents of the new state in the Southeast as part of ongoing consultations on state creation in the region.
The meeting, scheduled to hold on November 14, 2025, in one of the state capitals in the Southeast, will bring together a broad coalition of stakeholders, including members of the National Assembly, governors, speakers and deputy speakers of state Houses of Assembly, ministers, and heads of federal agencies from the region.
A statement released after a meeting between the deputy speaker and the South East Caucus of the Senate on Monday stated that the forum will provide an opportunity for the proponents of new state to present their case and for stakeholders to harmonise their positions ahead of parliamentary consideration.
At the meeting chaired by Senator Osita Izunaso, lawmakers from the region resolved to pursue a unified position on state creation before submitting it to the National Assembly for debate and voting.
A similar consultative meeting had earlier held at the House of Representatives, with lawmakers agreeing to extend the engagement to the Senate.
It will be recalled that the Joint Committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Constitution Review during its retreat co-chaired by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau and Kalu in Lagos penultimate week approved the creation of an additional state in the Southeast to bring the zone at par with other geopolitical regions of the country.
