As the agitation for the creation of Anioma State gathers national traction, Professor Dozie Chukwuokolo, National Secretary of the Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT), has urged proponents of other proposed Igbo states to shelve their ambitions and unite behind Anioma as the legitimate sixth state of the South East.
Professor Chukwuokolo made the call during a courtesy visit to Senator Ned Munir Nwoko on Tuesday, describing Anioma as the most logical, unifying, and constitutionally sound option to achieve parity for the South East with other geopolitical zones.
“I am excited that the sixth state is coming for Ndi Igbo, and that sixth state is Anioma. Igbo is one and will continue to be one. This is my personal view. Other Igbo people need to understand the need for Anioma to be the sixth Igbo state,” he stated.
Responding, Senator Ned Nwoko, who is sponsoring the Anioma State Creation Bill (SB. 481) in the Senate, reaffirmed that establishing Anioma is the fairest and most sensible path toward correcting Nigeria’s long-standing geopolitical imbalance.
He noted that Professor Chukwuokolo’s stance reflects the position of every fair-minded Nigerian who recognises that Anioma’s creation transcends ethnic sentiment—it is a constitutional necessity.
“We should be thinking of integration, not fragmentation. Anioma is the natural and historical sixth state of Ndi Igbo. Its creation will heal wounds and reinforce the Igbo position on restructuring the Federal Republic of Nigeria tangibly,” Senator Nwoko stated.
Echoing similar sentiments, veteran columnist and political analyst Amanze Obi, writing in his Vanguard column, urged the Presidency and the National Assembly to prioritise Anioma as the most viable and clearly defined of all ongoing state creation agitations.
“Unlike Anioma, whose territory is very well defined, those behind Orlu or Njaba State have not taken the time to delineate properly the territory the proposed state should cover. That explains why there have been pockets of disclaimers about the idea,” Obi wrote.
He maintained that both the Presidency and the legislature owe the nation a duty to pursue the least rancorous route to geopolitical equity by granting the South East its long-overdue sixth state.
According to him, Anioma deserves precedence because “those behind it have done a good job of their agitation, including its grouping as a South-East state,” adding that its creation would “heal wounds, calm frayed nerves, and right the wrongs of the past.”
Obi concluded that, unlike other agitations driven by confusion or expansionist motives, Anioma stands out as a model of unity, structure, and purpose—a compelling case for national balance and justice.
