The Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gabriel Dewan, has condemned the call for the creation of more states in the country......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
Naija News reported that the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Review, led by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, disclosed during plenary that the committee received proposals for the creation of 31 new states.
In an interview with Arise News on Thursday, the Plateau Speaker said the country was bedeviled by too many issues that should be addressed.
Dewan argued that the call for the creation of more states was not in the best interest of the country. According to him, creating more states would lead to increasing costs for the citizens and government.
The Speaker noted that most states currently were underperforming and unviable. He added that more state creation would be an addition to already existing problems.
“As a lawmaker that I am, the fact is very straight. For me, I’m against any creation of additional states for now. The reason is very simple, I don’t see need to create more states when we’re yet to manage the existing state that we’re having.
“The situation we’re having in this country now, for me, I felt we have so many issues that we need to channel our energy and our strength to, in order to salvage the nation than creating more states to add more wage bills to the nation. When we have a lot of issues that we need to look at as a country, why are we talking of more states?
“Have we finished managing the 36 states that we’re having now? We have high rate of unemployment in the country. We have high number of school dropouts and lots more, talk of diseases, talk of infrastructural decay, and so many issues. Why are we trying to add more government burden, more wage bills on the citizenry, when we’re yet to, solve the existing issues?
“So for me, as a person, If you create more states now, whether we like it or not, that is an invitation for more wage bills, because new government houses will be built, more governors will spring up, more legislatures will spring up, A lot of issues will come up. And I felt that is not necessary for now,” he said.
There Will Always Be Injustice
The Plateau State Speaker stressed the argument that more states would address the injustice of the underrepresented groups was lacking in sound argument.
Dewan called for patriotism from all Nigerians. He noted that there would always be cries of injustice. He emphasized the role of patriotism and good governance in addressing all concerns raised by all people across the country.
He continued, “Well, as I speak, I’m coming from a state where we have over 50 ethnic groups. But first and foremost, let’s look at it rationally. What is the definition of injustice? Yes. There are a lot of reasons.
“There are lots of things that make people believe that there are signs of injustice. Yes, there are injustices perpetrated in this nation, but that is not the yardstick for creation more states. Instead, we should come to a round table to discuss. Let’s talk about patriotism.
“We’re all Nigerians. We have agreed to be one Nigeria. So if we have agreed to be one Nigeria, what are we talking about? Whether you are Igbo, you are Yoruba, you are Hausa, whatsoever tribe, wheresoever you come from, as far as you are a Nigerian, for me, I think we should channel our strength on preaching unity, treating each other as one entity than issue of creating more state.
“There’s no state today, especially in some parts of the country. There’s no state today that we create that will sort issue of injustice.
“So I think what we need to do now is to educate ourselves about morality. Understanding what life is all about. And we should also remind ourselves that there’s nothing in this life whether we like it or not. We just have short period of time to enjoy and when the times come, we join our ancestors.
“I think there is a way our concentration should be than all these petty arguments of creating more states, creating more local government. Have we finished managing the existing one? That is the question.”