Nigeria’s Senate and House of Representatives joint committee has approved the creation of six additional states in the country.

This was one of the key resolutions reached at the end of the two-day retreat, co-chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, in Lagos.

The committee considered 55 requests for state creation on Saturday and unanimously resolved that six additional states be created in the country.

They considered a total of 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests during the retreat.

“We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging our constituents, critical stakeholders, institutions, civil society organisations and interest groups in town hall meetings, interactive sessions and public hearings, harvesting and synthesising views and perspectives which has ultimately culminated in what we have here today – 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments and 278 local government creation requests,” Senator Barau was quoted in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir.