Nigeria has 36 states in six geopolitical zones. The South-East, the heart of Igboland (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo), is the only zone with five states; the others have six, and the North-West seven.
This gap, rooted in the creation of states between 1967 and 1996, is argued to disadvantage the South-East in revenue allocation, legislative representation and public-service recruitment. As a result, proposals for a sixth South-East state — with Anioma and Orlu among the names discussed — keep returning to the National Assembly, as a question of parity within the federation.