{"id":361036,"date":"2025-07-20T12:28:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T11:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/?p=361036"},"modified":"2025-07-20T12:28:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T11:28:53","slug":"ijaw-group-demands-two-new-states-33-lgas-for-bayelsa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2025\/07\/20\/ijaw-group-demands-two-new-states-33-lgas-for-bayelsa\/","title":{"rendered":"Ijaw group demands two new states, 33 LGAs for Bayelsa"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><strong>Ijaw group insists derivation funds have not translated into visible infrastructure in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and other Ijaw areas.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>Oil Rivers state will include Isaka Town as capital, hosting over 30 oil fields and vast marine economic potential.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has demanded the creation of two new states as part of Nigeria\u2019s ongoing constitution review process.<\/p>\n<p>President-general of the congress, Prof Benjamin Okaba, presented the request in a memorandum during the constitution review hearing for the south-south zone at the national assembly.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the push for Toru-Ebe state was rooted in the Ijaw people\u2019s demand for justice, peace, self-determination, and regional development.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe reaffirm our demand for the creation of two additional homogeneous Ijaw states \u2014 Toru-Ebe, comprising Ijaws in Delta, Edo, and Ondo; and Oil Rivers, made up of Ijaws in Rivers and Akwa Ibom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe territorial configuration of the proposed Toru-Ebe state includes only Ijaw clans in the present Delta, Edo, and Ondo states.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese distinct yet culturally homogeneous clans of the Ijaw ethnic nationality \u2014 customary owners of all the land, living in a geographically contiguous territory of their own \u2014 have been deliberately balkanised into different political and administrative units in the country. They are the ones demanding the creation of the proposed state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prof Okaba lamented that despite their huge contribution to Nigeria\u2019s oil revenue, Ijaw communities were still grappling with underdevelopment.<\/p>\n<p>He said the 13 per cent derivation funds being collected by host states had not been utilised for the benefit of Ijaw communities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cModern infrastructure and social services such as schools, hospitals, and potable water are almost non-existent in Ijaw communities, especially in Edo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to this fragmentation, it has become impossible for an Ijaw person in Edo to even become a ward councillor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that the continued marginalisation had triggered migration and loss of cultural identity among the people.<\/p>\n<p>Okaba said the proposed Toru-Ebe state had a population of about 2.7 million and possessed enormous natural and economic resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also propose Oil Rivers state, comprising Ijaws in Rivers and Akwa Ibom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis area remains the most naturally blessed but environmentally degraded in the entire world, with massive oil spills and gas flaring threatening the very survival of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like our counterparts in Edo, the Ijaws \u2014 especially in Akwa Ibom \u2014 are left with no basic infrastructure, electricity, or healthcare services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is no meaningful state or federal government infrastructure in these Ijaw communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDue to the long period of fragmentation, many Ijaw communities face cultural extinction, with some losing their native language and traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the creation of Oil Rivers state, the rich heritage and environment of our people can be resuscitated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe proposed Oil Rivers state \u2014 with Isaka Town, located in the northern part of Okrika local government area, as its capital \u2014 is endowed with abundant natural and human resources, such as vast mangrove forests, rich fishery and agricultural potentials, a palm oil industry, tourism opportunities, natural harbours, and oil and gas reserves, with over 30 major oil and gas fields, making it economically viable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Okaba also decried the underrepresentation of Bayelsa in Nigeria\u2019s federal structure.<\/p>\n<p>He said the state had just eight local government areas despite being a major contributor to the country\u2019s oil production.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn terms of GDP, the state\u2019s contribution stands at $4.3 billion, with a GDP per capita of $1,773, according to 2020 rankings,\u201d Okaba said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state\u2019s economy is largely driven by the petroleum industry, with crude oil and natural gas as major contributors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state, therefore, has a critical role in the actualisation of Mr President\u2019s projection to meet the OPEC quota of 2.06 million barrels per day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also propose an additional 33 local government areas for Bayelsa, which currently has just eight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all know that eight LGAs for Bayelsa is an injustice in many ramifications \u2014 in terms of federal resource allocation and fair representation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur other concerns include the protection and remediation of our environment, equitable federal resource contribution through resource control and tax payments, and a truly federal constitution without a unitary character.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe also want the reintegration of Ijaws through the wholesale prosecution of the Ijaw struggle for self-determination, which has lasted centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Ijaw leader also proposed a constitutional amendment to replace the current six-zone structure with 10 federating regional units.<\/p>\n<p>He recommended the restructuring of Nigeria\u2019s geopolitical layout under Section 3(1) of the 1999 Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the constitution review committee of the house of representatives said it had received 46 requests for state creation.<\/p>\n<p>It added that 117 proposals for new local government areas had also been submitted by different interest groups across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ijaw group insists derivation funds have not translated into visible infrastructure in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and other Ijaw areas. Oil Rivers state will include Isaka Town as capital, hosting over 30 oil fields and vast marine economic potential. The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has demanded the creation of two new states as part of Nigeria\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":361039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"2","single_blog_custom":"211693","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"1","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_bookmark_settings":{"override_bookmark_button":"0","override_show_bookmark_button":"0"},"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[395,8667,14446,17511,16,5165,81221],"class_list":["post-361036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-bayelsa","tag-constitution-review","tag-ijaw","tag-local-government","tag-national-assembly","tag-niger-delta","tag-state-creation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ijaw group demands two new states, 33 LGAs for Bayelsa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has demanded the creation of two new states as part of Nigeria\u2019s ongoing constitution review process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.withinnigeria.com\/news\/2025\/07\/20\/ijaw-group-demands-two-new-states-33-lgas-for-bayelsa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ijaw group demands two new states, 33 LGAs for Bayelsa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ijaw group insists derivation funds have not translated into visible infrastructure in Edo, Delta, Ondo, and other Ijaw areas. 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