Senator Ned Munir Nwoko has reignited the agitation for the creation of Anioma State, insisting that the demand is not a plea for favour but a rightful claim rooted in history, identity, and justice.
In a statement shared on his social media pages, the lawmaker representing Delta North in the 10th Senate traced Anioma’s long struggle through colonial distortions, the Nigerian Civil War, and decades of post-war marginalisation.
He affirmed that the people of Delta North are “Igbos in every sense: by language, tradition, blood, and identity.”
According to Nwoko, arbitrary colonial boundaries and manipulative post-war politics imposed on Anioma a “double burden: the pain of denial and the weight of marginalisation.” He underscored Anioma’s deep-rooted Igbo heritage, citing common market days, cultural festivals, names, and dialects as undeniable proof.
Revisiting Anioma’s history of resilience, the senator recalled the 31-year Ekwumeku resistance against colonial rule (1883–1914) and the tragic experiences of the Nigerian Civil War, including the infamous Asaba Massacre of October 7, 1967, when hundreds of Anioma men and boys were executed by federal troops despite their pleas for peace.
“The attempt to erase the Igbo identity of Anioma is a silent form of ethnic cleansing — not just of people, but of history and memory,” Nwoko declared.
He stressed that the creation of Anioma State goes beyond politics or personal ambition, describing it as an overdue correction of historical injustice. “Anioma people are not to be erased or silenced; rather they are to be recognised, celebrated, and established. Anioma State is the future and the time is now,” he said.
Calling on Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to support the cause, the senator reaffirmed that Anioma’s demand for statehood is “a right long denied and justice long delayed.”
‘Anioma Statehood is a right, not privilege’ – Ned Nwoko