The National Assembly joint committee on the review of the constitution will next week meet to consider modalities for the consideration of 47 requests for additional state creation.
Sources disclosed that the joint committee could not take any action on further amendment of the 1999 constitution last year because the National Assembly did not budget for the committee in the 2011 appropriation.
It was learnt that the joint committee is in a dilemma on how to handle the request for additional states considering complaints and threat of bankruptcy of some existing states in the country.
The committee, it was learnt, has lined up series of public enlightenment towards further amendment of the constitution and to let agitators of additional states know the implications of having more states.
Sources revealed that prominent Nigerians have been piling pressures on the leadership of the National Assembly, especially the Senate President David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, to ensure theirs would be among states likely to be created, but the lawmakers have not yet decided on the issue.
State creation was not considered during the last amendment of the constitution which only dealt with the tenure of the president and governors in the case of the death of the president or the governor.
The last amendment also gave autonomy to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and made its funding first line charge.
Mark at the commencement of the seventh Senate June last year told Nigerians that the major concern of the present National Assembly would be the amendment of the constitution.
Sources disclosed that the joint committee would soon call for memoranda from Nigerians, groups and organisations for likely areas needing amendment in the constitution.
