Legislator Drums Support For New State

Representative, Kamil Akinlabi (PDP-Oyo) has said that people of Oyo State wants the creation of New Oyo State, from the present Oyo State, to give the people a sense of belonging and for even development.

Our correspondent reports that the lawmaker representing Atiba, Oyo West, Oyo East and Afijio Federal Constituency, said that the creation of New Oyo State was long overdue.

Akinlabi said the request for the creation of the state dated back to 1979 when the defunct National Assembly in 1983 passed a motion for its creation.

He said that the present Oyo State has the largest landmass in the South West geo-political zone with more than 5,580,894 million people according to the 2006 population census and 33 local governments.

“It is a state that deserves to be split into two states of New Oyo and Ibadan. The area being proposed as New Oyo State consists of Oke Ogun , Oyo and Ogbomosho zones,’’ he said.

Akinlabi said the proposed new state would have 19 local governments and a population of 2.7 million, adding that the new state has rich cultural heritage, linguistic affinity and geographical continuity.

He said the capital of the proposed New Oyo State would be Oyo town because the old Oyo kingdom was the headquarters of Oyo Empire, which extended beyond the boundary of Nigeria.

The lawmaker said that all stakeholders in the state like the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, members of Oyo caucus in the National Assembly, religious and traditional leaders, had endorsed the request for the creation of the new state.

“I am convinced that the creation of New Oyo State is of strategic significance for the achievement of even and balanced development and peaceful co-existence in the South West geo-political zone and the country at large,’’ he said.

Akinlabi, who listed the potential of the proposed state in terms of education, commerce, international trade, infrastructural development and the political will of the people, said the creation would bring government closer to the people.

The Tide source reports that the memorandum for the creation of the new state was presented by the people of the area to the National Assembly for consideration by chairman of the group, Chief F.A.A. Taiwo.

With the presentation, the number of state agitators had increased to 20 with the presentation of memoranda to joint committee of National Assembly on the Review of 1999 constitution.