Delta monarch backs Ned Nwoko’s bill, insists Anioma State is overdue

The traditional ruler of Idumuje-Unor in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State, His Royal Majesty Obi Charles Chukwunweike Anyasi III, has affirmed that the people of Delta North Senatorial District, popularly known as Anioma, are Igbos and remain resolute in their quest for a separate state.

Speaking on TVC’s Behind the Headlines programme, Obi Anyasi III, a veteran broadcaster turned monarch, said while some argue about diverse ancestries, “Aniomas are statutorily Igbos.”

He traced the origin of the term “Anioma” to Sir Dennis Osadebay, who coined it from the initials of the four component groups: Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika, and Oshimili, with the additional “M” and “A” added “for poetic excellence.” Anioma, meaning “the good land,” he said, covers about 6,000 square kilometres with a population of roughly two million people.

On the longstanding demand for Anioma State, the monarch recalled that the agitation dates back to the 1954 London constitutional conference that produced the Lyttleton Constitution. Since then, he said, the call for statehood has passed through nine distinct phases, with Osadebay as its foremost champion.

He commended renewed momentum from Senator Ned Nwoko’s recent bill in the 10th Senate, describing it as “a natural desire you cannot take away from the people.”

Asked whether Anioma should be part of the South-South or South-East geopolitical zone, Obi Anyasi III said: “If you ask me personally, I will say South-South. But with the current political realities, it probably would not work well. The mindset of the President seems to be about balancing the federal structure with the reality of five states in the South-East. If the current optics go for settlement in the South-East and we cannot change it, why don’t we accept it?”

The monarch argued that creating Anioma State would bring governance closer to the people. “The dividends of democracy will come closer with Anioma State creation. We moved from Midwest to Bendel to where we are now. We should not fear the future. With what we have, we can seek self-determination,” he said.

He praised Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s efforts at ensuring development across Delta State, calling him “one of the best governors we have had,” but noted that the people’s aspirations for statehood remain strong because “desire is inexhaustible.”