Sources told SaharaReporters that Senator Nwoko mobilised a crowd—including youths and elderly individuals from various towns and villages within the proposed Anioma region—to attend the Enugu hearing in a show of support for the proposed state.
The push for the creation of Anioma State from the present Delta State, championed by Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents the Delta North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has reportedly suffered a significant setback, SaharaReporters has learnt.
In a letter dated May 27, 2025, Nwoko had appealed to his colleagues in the Senate to support Senate Bill 481, which seeks to establish Anioma State as a means of addressing the imbalance in Nigeria’s federal structure.
However, SaharaReporters reliably gathered that lawmakers from Delta North in the Delta State House of Assembly have withdrawn their support for the proposal, citing their recent experience during a trip to Abuja as a key reason for their decision.
A senior management staff of the Assembly from Delta North, who spoke to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the prospects for the creation of Anioma State now appear bleak.
The source said, “Ned Nwoko’s agitation for the creation of Anioma State recently suffered a setback.
“Our members representing us from Delta North senatorial district in the Delta State House of Assembly were recently invited to Abuja for a meeting in connection with the agitation for the Anioma State creation and were presented with a blank sheet of paper to append their signatures and the lawmakers demanded to know what it was meant for and they were told it was for the Anioma State creation bill.
“At this point, the lawmakers demanded to see a copy of the bill, but nothing was presented to them despite their strong stand. Based on that, the lawmakers turned down the request to append their signatures, because they cannot sign a blank sheet of paper. They must know what they are signing for, and they left.
“You know, the process of creating a new state in Nigeria is not a tea party; the State House of Assembly must be involved, which requires endorsement by a simple majority of all the State Houses of Assembly and a simple majority of their members, including the host state’s legislature.
“You will agree with me that the Delta State House of Assembly must play a very vital role in supporting the agitation or frustrating its realisation.”
Sources revealed that some individuals believed to be loyal to Senator Nwoko have begun accusing a former governor of allegedly working behind the scenes to sabotage the agitation for the creation of Anioma State.
The ex-governor is said to have influenced key figures, particularly members of the Delta State House of Assembly from Delta North, discouraging them from supporting the proposal or signing in favour of it.
Reacting to what he described as a calculated attempt to derail the movement, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and close political associate of Nwoko, Emma Ejiofor, issued a stern warning, declaring that anyone opposing the Anioma State agenda would be “crushed.”
Speaking at a recent APC Delta North stakeholders’ meeting, Ejiofor, a former Deputy Chief of Staff, criticised the Delta North lawmakers in the State Assembly for refusing to endorse the proposal by declining to append their signatures.
He said, “I hear some people are not too happy with our agenda, Anioma Agenda. I will plead with every one of us to key into Anioma State creation. If you block our way, we will crush you because Anioma State is a done deal.
“I have heard from information that those of the House of Assembly members, they are not ready to sign the request. I want to assure you, if there is any member who will not agree to sign that request, we will prepare to recall that House of Assembly member.”
“We have all it takes to do whatever we want this time. The senator cannot have, as of now, 75 senators supporting him, then we are now struggling with nine local government House of Assembly members. Tell them whoever that we are ready to crush that person and recall that person. It is a promise. So, Anioma State creation is a done deal,” Ejiofor boasted.
Also, during a press briefing, the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Dennis Emomotimi Guwor, addressed questions regarding the agitation for the creation of Anioma State.
He expressed support for the lawmakers’ decision to withhold their signatures, stating that they were right to reject the request to sign what he described as a blank or unspecified document.
Guwor said, “What has the House got to do with a law that has not been passed in the National Assembly? What is the correlation? My colleagues from Anioma were invited recently.
“From information available to me, they were asked to sign for a bill before the National Assembly, and they told me that a copy of the bill was not given to them. So their bone of contention is that they want to see a copy.
“You cannot sign a document that is not before you, you cannot just sign on a plain sheet, and then you don’t know what that will amount to. So, after the meeting, they told me. Because when they went for the meeting, I was aware that they were going, and when they returned, they told me that this is the situation.
“There was no bill before them to sign. They were given a sheet of paper to sign, and they rejected it vehemently, stating that they could not sign on a sheet of paper for a bill at that level.”
A public hearing hosted by the Senate Committee on State Creation in Enugu on Friday was marred by protests from a group of alleged “rented supporters” of Anioma State, who claimed they were abandoned and left unpaid after participating in the event.
The hearing, part of a broader constitutional review process by the 10th Senate, featured a delegation led by Senator Nwoko.
Sources told SaharaReporters that Senator Nwoko mobilised a crowd—including youths and elderly individuals from various towns and villages within the proposed Anioma region—to attend the Enugu hearing in a show of support for the proposed state.
The supporters were allegedly promised financial compensation, along with transportation and feeding, for their participation.
The mobilisation effort was reportedly coordinated by Senator Nwoko’s cousin, Michael Nwoko, who was said to be responsible for logistics and disbursement of allowances to the group.
However, after the hearing concluded, the crowd alleged they were abandoned in Enugu without being “settled” as agreed.
“These are people supporting Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North in the National Assembly. We’re not going anywhere until our allowances are duly paid,” a voice was heard saying in a video obtained by SaharaReporters. “He brought people from Anioma in Delta and kept them stranded in Enugu.”
Sources said that when the aggrieved group attempted to reach Senator Nwoko to demand their allowances, they were directed back to Michael Nwoko. Tensions flared when Michael reportedly tried to walk back on the arrangement, triggering a heated protest at the venue.