Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review on Thursday proposed the creation of 31 new states in the country.

If the proposal scales through, the Nigerian state will be made up of 67 sub-national governments as the country’s current states stand at 36, including the Federal Capital Territory.

The proposal for new states was contained in a letter read during Thursday’s plenary session by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the session in the absence of the Speaker, Mr. Tajudeen Abbas.

The letter read in part, “The committee proposes the creation of 31 new states. As amended, this section outlines specific requirements that must be fulfilled to initiate the process of state creation, which include the following:

“1. New state and boundaries

“An act of the National Assembly for the purpose of creating a new state shall only be passed if it requires support by at least the third majority of members.

“The House of Representatives, the House of Assembly in respect of the area, and the Local Government Council in respect of the area are received by the National Assembly.

“Local government advocates for the creation of additional local government areas are only reminded that Section 8 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, applies to this process.

“Specifically, in accordance with Section 8 (3) of the Constitution, the outcome of the votes of the State Houses of Assembly in the referendum must be forwarded to the National Assembly for fulfillment of state,” the proposal partly reads.

According to the proposal, the new states are Okun, Okura, and Confluence States from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa States from Benue; FCT State; Amana State from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi and Savannah States from Borno and Muri State from Taraba.

Others are New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna State; Tiga and Ari from Kano; and Kainji from Kebbi State; Etiti and Orashi as the 6th state in the South East; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba from the South East.

Also included are Ogoja from Cross River State, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos, Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun State, and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun States.

The Edo State Government has announced the suspension of its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Samson Osagie, and the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Damian Lawani.

The Secretary to the State Government, Musa Ikhilor, made this announcement in a statement released on Thursday morning in Benin, the state capital.

Ikhilor stated that the two high-ranking state officials were suspended due to allegations of “grave official and financial infractions.”

According to him, the suspension, which takes immediate effect, is pending the conclusion of an investigation into the allegations.

“It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that the Gov. Monday Okpebholo has approved the suspension from office of the Chairman of Edo Local Government Service Commission, Damian Lawani and Commissioner for Justice, Samson Osagie over allegations of grave official and financial infractions.

“The suspension is with immediate effect.

“Consequently, the governor has ordered the setting up of an Investigative Committee to investigate the allegations levelled against them and make appropriate recommendations accordingly.

“The suspension of Osagie and Lawani became necessary to enable the government to carry out a thorough investigation into the allegation of financial infractions levelled against them.

“The suspension is pending the conclusion of the investigation,” the SSG said.

The suspension came less than three months after the two officials were appointed.

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has reportedly ordered the final forfeiture of funds totalling N1,168,602,877.44, $392,818.01, and £35,070, recovered from a former employee of First Bank of Nigeria, Muiz Tijani Adeyinka, to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to a statement on Tuesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission via X, Justice A.O. Owoeye granted the final forfeiture order on Monday, February 3, 2025, following a motion on notice filed by the EFCC.

The order came after an initial interim forfeiture ruling made on November 27, 2024, which required the publication of the forfeiture notice in a national newspaper, allowing any interested party to contest the claim.

Counsel to the EFCC, Zeenat Atiku, while presenting the application, stated, “The Commission, on March 26, 2024, received a petition from First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) alleging fraudulent transactions in various bank accounts within and outside the bank.”

According to Atiku, investigations revealed that Adeyinka, the principal suspect, was a former staff member of First Bank and also served as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Golden Sieve Logistics Ltd, Golden Sieve Properties Ltd, and Golden Sieve Motors Ltd. These companies were duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

“He was attached to the Settlement Office of the bank and, by virtue of his office, had some inalienable access available only to the Settlement Office,” Atiku explained.

The EFCC’s counsel further stated that Adeyinka manipulated the settlement accounts by creating fictitious domiciliary inflows, transferring the naira equivalent to himself and his associates.

“In a bid to conceal and disguise the said fraudulent proceeds derived, he laundered the same by purchasing US Dollars and USDT,” Atiku added.

The illicit funds were traced to Adeyinka’s personal dollar account and cryptocurrency wallets.

Following the publication of the interim forfeiture order in The PUNCH newspaper on December 5, 2024, the court found no contesting claims against the forfeiture application.

After reviewing the supporting affidavit, written address, and the publication, Justice Owoeye ruled in favour of the EFCC’s application.

“I have considered the application. I have examined the affidavit in support, the written address, and the publication attached. The application has merit and the same is hereby granted,” the judge declared.