Bill to create new state, rename existing one scales first reading

___A bill to establish a new Oyo State and rename the existing Oyo State to Ibadan State has passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.

_____The bill, sponsored by Akeem Adeyemi, the son of the Late Alafin Adeyemi, and six others, seeks to create Oyo State with Oyo town as the capital, while the remaining part should form Ibadan State with Ibadan city as the capital.

,,,,,The constitution alteration bill was passed for a second reading on Tuesday during the plenary session.

The bill proposes the division of the existing 33 local governments, which would be shared among the two states.

_____The bill was subsequently referred to the Constitutional Review Committee for further legislative action.

It should be recalled that last week, a similar bill aimed at creating a new state in Nigeria’s south-south geopolitical zone also passed its second reading.

_____This legislation proposed the creation of Ogoja State from Cross River, as part of efforts to amend the 1999 Constitution.

____No state has been created since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.