The pioneer Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Abia State, Chief Theo Nkire, has said that the request for the creation of Aba State is a project for the entire South-East region.

He has proof. In the often-complex political landscape of the South-East, the call for Aba State stands out for its broad consensus. Twice, in 2015 and 2018, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organisation in the zone, endorsed Aba as the sixth state to be created in the South-East.

The endorsement is based on the area’s distinct character. Unlike other proposals, Aba State is supported by a cohesive community with a shared history and consistent boundaries for decades. The Aba Division of the colonial era, with congruent boundaries, forms the proposed Aba State.

Moreover, Aba is easily described as “home to almost every family in the South-East.” A list of former administrators of Aba reveals that people from across Igboland have participated in the governance of the proposed state, making it a melting pot of the entire region.

The Chairman of the Aba State Movement, HRH Eze Love Wogu, and the Secretary-General, Chief G. I. Akara, in a statement, said the movement had expanded its campaign beyond the South-East, gaining backing from esteemed traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, the Emir of Bauchi, and the Emir of Daura. Between 2009 and 2010, the Aba State Movement obtained the necessary signatures from 21 state Houses of Assembly, showing a national consensus for the Aba State cause.

“Aba State is a proposal that has consistently garnered this level of internal consensus and external support, making it the most viable and unifying option to correct the geo-political imbalance in the number of states in the South-East,” Chief Nkire noted.

The National Assembly had, in June 1983, approved a referendum for the creation of Aba State, but the subsequent military takeover truncated the process.