House Of Rep Advances Bill To Divide Oyo State Into Two

On Tuesday, Nigeria’s House of Representatives moved forward with a bill proposing to split Oyo State into two new states. The bill, introduced by Akeem Adeyemi and six other lawmakers, seeks to create “New Oyo State” with Oyo town as its capital, while the remaining area would be renamed “Ibadan State” with Ibadan City as its capital.

Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, noted that the bill was straightforward and did not require debate, promptly referring it to the Committee on Constitutional Review for further consideration.

This proposal reignites longstanding discussions on restructuring Oyo State, which was originally formed on February 3, 1976, from the former Western State during the military regime of General Murtala Mohammed. Over the years, there have been multiple efforts to divide the state, though previous attempts, such as creating Oke-Ogun and Ibadan states, did not succeed.

Currently, another bill introduced by Oluwole Oke, representing Osun State, is under review, advocating for the creation of Oke-Ogun State. The ongoing review of these proposals continues the debate on the potential restructuring of Oyo State.