Senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, says peace has continued to elude Nigeria’s South-East region due to the perceived marginalisation of the zone by successive governments.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Nwoko said the federal government could restore peace in the region by taking two major steps — creating one more state for the South-East and releasing the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
“The problem in the South-East has to do with perceived injustice by successive governments,” Nwoko said. “What needs to be done is to create one more state to make up six states for the zone and release Nnamdi Kanu. Once these two things are done, peace will return to the region.”
The lawmaker, who is leading the campaign for the creation of Anioma State from the present Delta State, said he is confident that the proposed state would be approved. He noted that the Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review had agreed to create an additional state in the South-East.
“Now, the National Assembly has set up a committee to determine which of the proposed states will be approved. There are about seven proposals, and we are one of them. At the public hearing in Enugu, we presented our case, and I am almost certain Anioma will be chosen,” he said.
Nwoko added that the creation of Anioma State would not only balance representation among the six geopolitical zones but also serve as a symbolic gesture of inclusion for the Igbo people. He expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu would approve the proposal, describing it as “the best gift to the Anioma people and the Igbo nation.”
On the detention of Nnamdi Kanu, Nwoko described the IPOB leader’s continued incarceration as unjust, insisting that his release would calm tensions and pave the way for reconciliation.
Kanu, who was re-arrested in June 2021, remains in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) facing terrorism charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Several political leaders and groups from the South-East have continued to call for a political solution to his case.
Nwoko reiterated that genuine peace in the South-East will only be achieved through fairness, justice, and inclusion, rather than the use of force.
