{"id":149138,"date":"2025-02-08T10:43:38","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T09:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states"},"modified":"2025-02-15T22:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T21:06:09","slug":"joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Joke taken to far\u2019 \u2013  Lawyers kick against creation of additional 31 states"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Two prominent lawyers in Nigeria have cautioned against the move by the House of Representatives, which proposed the creation of 31 additional states.<\/p>\n<p>Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, former chairman of the special presidential panel on recovery of public properties, and Justice Osai Ahiakwo, a public issues analyst, described the move as a charade, a joke taken too far, and sheer wastage of public funds.<\/p>\n<p>In their separate statements released on Friday in Calabar, the duo called for a stay of action on the proposal.<\/p>\n<p>Ahiakwo argued that this proposal may not be an immediate solution to the economic hardship which Nigerians are facing.<\/p>\n<p>He said it was unfortunate to hear the Committee on Constitution Review of the House preoccupy themselves with debates on the creation of new states at a time when lack of food and other legitimate means of survival have threatened the collective existence of the people.<\/p>\n<p>Ahiakwo said that the financial expenses required in sponsoring the process of creating new states are heavy, and the process is cumbersome.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the processes are rigorous and time-consuming, requiring a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, House of Representatives, and the state Houses of Assembly, adding that these would be followed by a referendum.<\/p>\n<p>He stated that all the money that would be allocated to these processes could have been used to provide improved farm mechanization for increased agricultural produce, thereby affording millions of unemployed youths job opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis state creation proposal serves no purpose as the immediate solution to the excruciating pains people are currently suffering in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He further argued that the House of Representatives has not shown the approval obtained via a referendum by at least two-thirds majority of the people of the areas where the demand for the creation of the states originated, as provided in Section 8 (b) of the 1999 Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>He advised that the constitutional requirement for the creation of new states, as provided under Chapter 1, Part 2, Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), must be met even as the country gets ready for another round of general elections in two years.<\/p>\n<p>On his part, Chief Obono-Obla said, \u201cThis joke is taken too far. It\u2019s a charade that showcases our country\u2019s inability to take serious decisions and our propensity to politicize everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Obono-Obla asked if Nigerians really need new states when the existing ones were struggling to survive and have become a mockery of their intended purpose.<\/p>\n<p>According to Obono-Obla, the House recommendation has highlighted the country\u2019s inherent contradictions, questioning the patriotism of the governing elite and their inability to reach a consensus on fundamental matters that have plagued the country for 65 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe House of Reps committee has already failed by starting on the wrong foot. If they can\u2019t recommend a reasonable number of states, how will they navigate the complex constitutional process?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSection 8 of the Constitution outlines the rigorous process for creating new states, involving a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, House of Representatives, state assemblies, and local government councils, followed by a referendum and approval from the National Assembly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven the difficulty in reaching a consensus, it\u2019s perplexing to expect that this process can be successfully navigated. I have consistently doubted the feasibility of creating new states, especially considering the governing elite\u2019s struggle to forge consensus on even mundane matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Two prominent lawyers in Nigeria have cautioned against the move by the House of Representatives, which proposed the creation of 31 additional states. Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, former chairman of the special presidential panel on recovery of public properties, and Justice Osai Ahiakwo, a public issues analyst, described the move as a charade, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":149137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[913,254,197],"class_list":["post-149138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-lawyers","tag-nigeria","tag-states"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Joke taken to far\u2019 \u2013 Lawyers kick against creation of additional 31 states - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two prominent lawyers in Nigeria have cautioned against the move by the House of Representatives, which proposed the cre ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Joke taken to far\u2019 \u2013 Lawyers kick against creation of additional 31 states\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two prominent lawyers in Nigeria have cautioned against the move by the House of Representatives, which proposed the cre ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-08T09:43:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-15T21:06:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1738999079.960013.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Joke taken to far\u2019 \u2013 Lawyers kick against creation of additional 31 states\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-08T09:43:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-15T21:06:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\"},\"wordCount\":578,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/02\/sm_1738999079.960013.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"lawyers\",\"Nigeria\",\"States\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/joke-taken-to-far-lawyers-kick-against-creation-of-additional-31-states\",\"name\":\"\u2018Joke taken to far\u2019 \u2013 Lawyers kick against creation of additional 31 states - 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