A member of the Abia State House of Assembly, Nnamdi Ibekwe, has urged the Federal Government to designate the South-East geopolitical zone as the judicial capital of the country.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Ibekwe, who made the call in a motion on the floor of the House on Wednesday, said the move would conform with what obtains in some parts of the world where the political capital is different from the economic or judicial capital.
He explained that designating the South East as the judicial capital would foster and strengthen the unity of Nigeria.
“Whereas Abuja and Lagos were known as political and economic capitals of Nigeria respectively, there was need for a judicial capital sited in the South-East,” Ibekwe said.
He said several countries, including South Africa, Sri Lanka, Benin, Bolivia, Chile, Cote d’Ivoire, Georgia, Malaysia, Netherlands and Swaziland, have multiple capitals.
Ibekwe said these countries did so to fast-track development and, most especially, to engender national integration and unity.
He said South Africa, for example, shared its capital in the mode of Pretoria (executive) capital, Cape Town (legislative) capital and Bloemfontein (judicial) capital.
He said the request is in line with the National Orientation Agency’s mandate that made it to mobilise the citizenry to act in ways that promote peace, harmony and national development.
