Indigenous People of Biafra, on Thursday, dismissed the bill seeking to create an additional state for the South-East.
IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful, said the Igbo people needed a referendum to exit Nigeria and not the creation of an additional state.
A bill seeking the creation of an additional state for the South-East passed the first reading at the House of Representatives on Thursday. Sponsored by the member representing Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency, Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, and others, the bill is now set for a second reading.
According to the draft bill, the creation of Orlu State will alter the 1999 Constitution (as amended), increasing the number of states in the federation from 36 to 37.
The new state will be carved out from Imo, Abia, and Anambra states, with Orlu as its capital city. But reacting to the development, IPOB spokesman said,
“We don’t want more states in Igboland; creating more states in Igboland means creating more confusion and hatred among Ndigbo. The already existing states have not been well managed by Nigerians and now they want to create more confusion.
“The cost of governance is increasing on a daily basis in Nigeria; certainly, the new state will not be well managed like others.
“Most of the existing states in the country are not viable and they want to add more confusion and problem.
“The creation of more states is not our problem. All we want is a total referendum to determine whether Ndigbo would like to remain in Nigeria or not. Ndigbo want total freedom and that is what we insist on.”