Senator Nwoko calls on Ohaneze Ndigbo to support the Creation of Anioma State.

Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District at the National Assembly, has urged Ohaneze Ndi Igbo to sustain its support for the creation of Anioma State, describing it as a long-overdue step toward equity and justice.

Speaking as Chairman of the World Igbo Day celebration organised by Ohaneze on Monday in Awka, Anambra State, Nwoko—represented by Ogbueshi Godfrey Odogwu, Director-General of the Technical Committee on Anioma State creation—reaffirmed that the Anioma people share a common heritage and language with the Igbo of the South East.

He stressed that Anioma’s quest for statehood dates back to 1954, when Sir Dennis Osadebay first submitted the request to carve out the West Niger Province from the old Benin and Warri provinces.

“For seventy years, Anioma Igbo have never missed any opportunity to file a request for the creation of Anioma State, a request for self-determination and statehood to end decades of marginalisation and injustice. The actualisation of this dream has remained deferred until I got elected as Senator in 2023. After wide consultations, I sponsored a bill for the creation of Anioma State as the 37th state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”

The Senator expressed delight that the Anioma State creation bill has passed both first and second readings in the Senate and has been presented at public hearings in Ikot Ekpene and Enugu. He disclosed that over 90 Senators across all geopolitical zones have pledged support, noting that the third reading and referendum would follow.

“Help Ndi Anioma Igbo to end this seventy-year-old quest for the creation of Anioma State. Let us rise with one voice to say we are proud to be Igbo, bonded in one destiny,”

Nwoko commended the entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo, describing them as “dream makers and great achievers,” while charging Ohaneze Ndi Igbo to continue leading the crusade for unity and peaceful coexistence. The event was attended by Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State, Ohaneze President-General Senator John Azuta Mbata, and delegates from across the South-East and Anioma regions.