By Eche Nwaobasi – Nnewi
Prince (Barr.) Orji Nwafor-Orizu, one of the sons of Chief Nwafor Orizu, the first President of the Nigerian Senate, and a senior lawyer, has declared his support for the creation of Etiti State from the South East region.
It will be recalled that only a few days ago, the National Assembly (NASS) Joint Committee on Constitutional Review approved the creation of a new state in the region.
The South East currently comprises only five states.
The approval of a new state in the South East is expected to generate intense political debate among governors and influential political figures, each seeking to have the new state located within their respective territories.
For instance, there is a bill proposing the creation of Anioma State, currently part of Delta State. Proponents of this idea argue that Anioma, being a predominantly Igbo-speaking area, should be recognized as the sixth state of the South East geopolitical zone. Similarly, there have been agitations for the creation of Orlu State from the present Imo State. Another growing movement is calling for the establishment of Etiti State within the South East region.
Barrister Orji Nwafor-Orizu, a former President of the National Union of Nigerian Students (NUNS)—now NANS—and Convener of the Former Students Union Leaders Forum of Nigeria, as well as Chairman of the Society for the Advancement of Democracy in Nigeria (SAD), spoke on the issue during an interview on Sunday, October 26, 2025, at his country home in Otolo Nnewi.
Applauding the recent development at the National Assembly, he opined that the best approach would be to create the new state by carving out local government areas from each of the five existing South East states, rather than from just one state.
He therefore urged stakeholders and politicians advocating for Anioma and Orlu States to withdraw their proposals from the National Assembly and rally behind the demand for the creation of Etiti State.
In his words: “Unarguably, the old Orlu region is very large, comprising twelve local government areas. It is enough to make a state—after all, Bayelsa has only eight local government areas. But the demand for Orlu State is based solely on the size of the region. Its major shortcoming is that it would be carved out of Imo State alone.
“Anioma, on the other hand, is to be carved out of Delta State, which lies across the Niger. Therefore, it cannot qualify as a South East state. Etiti State, however, is a well-thought-out idea. I am one of the earliest proponents of Etiti State,I was the first person to write about it in the newspapers.
”The proposed Etiti State would comprise some of the most underdeveloped areas of Igboland, including Orumba North and Orumba South in Anambra State; the Okigwe area of Imo State; the Isuikwuato area of Abia State; the Isiagu area of Ebonyi State; and the Lokpa Nta and Lokpa Ukwu areas of Enugu State, with Okigwe as the proposed capital.
“All the Igbo states would be represented in Etiti State. This proposal offers a balanced and equitable developmental framework for the entire South East. Therefore, every stakeholder and political leader in the region should support it.”
