Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru has advocated for the creation of additional states in the South East region to address the imbalance in the geo-political structure.
He was speaking when he received members of the Senate Committee on the Review of the1999 Constitution in Abakalili, Ebonyi State capital.
This was contained in a statement issued on Friday by his Chief Press secretary, Dr Monday Uzor and made available to journalists in Abakalili.
“To end regional squabbles permanently, I urge the National Assembly to ensure marginalization and structural imbalances are constitutionally addressed.
“Out of the six geo-political zones in the country, only this region has five states, a development that can trigger resentment amongst the people,” he said.
The Governor, who said the review was necessary, advocated that the office of the President be rotated among the six geo-political zones for equity and fairness
“That the South East geo-political zone has not occupied the position of the President since 1999 is an injustice.
“What is the essence of the geo-political zone structure if the office of the president cannot be tested by all the zones?” The Governor queried.
He stressed the need to review the section 308 of the constitution to also grant immunity to Senate President, Deputy Senate President,, Speaker, House of Representatives and Deputy, as well as Speakers and Deputy Speakers of State Assemblies.
The Governor used the occasion to renew his call for constitutional backing to state police, dismissing the insinuations that they will be misused by the governors.
Earlier, the leader of the team and Deputy Chief whip of the Senate, Onyekachi Nwebonyi said they were in the zone for a public hearing on the review of the Constitution
“Due to growing concerns that there is need to further review the constitution to meet the demands of Nigerians, the public hearing was conducted.
“I don’t need to tell you much about it because in the previous exercises, you participated actively as the then speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly,” he said.
He assured that members of the review committee will ensure no section of the country is short-changed in the process of the review.
