Umuahia, Sept. 19, 2023 (NAN) A member of Abia House of Assembly, Mr Nnamdi Ibekwe, has urged the Federal Government to designate South East the judicial capital of the country.
He made the call during the House plenary in Umuahia on Tuesday.
Ibekwe in his motion entitled, “A matter of urgent national unity: making South East judicial capital of Nigeria,” said that it would foster and strengthen national unity.
The lawmaker representing Bende North State Constituency, stressed that it would help to instill and engender togetherness, accommodation and integration.
According to him, several countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka, Benin, Bolivia, Chile, Cote d’ Voire, Georgia, Malaysia, Netherlands and Swaziland all have multiple capitals.
Ibekwe argued that these countries did so in a bid to fast track development and most especially, engender national integration and unity.
The lawmaker, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party said that South Africa shared its capital thus; Pretoria (executive) capital, Cape Town (legislative) capital and Bloemfontein (judicial) capital.
”It is in order to ensure unity and accommodation at the end of the country’s apartheid era,” the lawmaker said.
He said that whereas Abuja and Lagos were known as federal and economic capitals of the country respectively, there was need for a judicial capital in South East.
Ibekwe said that his motion aligned with the objectives of the National Orientation Agency in mobilising citizens to act in ways that promoted peace, harmony and national development.
He urged the legislators from the South East to work in consonance with their colleagues to pass a similar motion and follow through.
He also called on the governors and appointees in Federal Government from the zone to pursue the agenda vigorously.
In their contributions, some assembly members said the motion would first require an amendment of the 1999 Constitution, while others argued that it would involve the inputs of others states in the region.
The Speaker, Mr Emmanuel Emeruwa said, “the motion is a little bit complicated and a little hard for the layman to understand.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House which adjourned plenary for Wednesday, reconvened after embarking on recess on Sept. 5. (NAN)
