Asagba of Asaba, Delta North Lawmakers Oppose Moves to Remove Asaba As Capital Of Proposed Anioma State�

A fresh rift has emerged in the ongoing national debate over the creation of Anioma State, as the Asagba of Asaba, His Royal Majesty Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), and legislators from Delta North Senatorial Zone have firmly opposed suggestions to relocate the proposed state capital away from Asaba or align the new state with the South-East geopolitical zone.
The opposition comes amid mounting concerns that political manoeuvres could undermine decades of development and the historical identity of the Anioma people.
Speaking against what he described as “poorly considered proposals,” the Asagba warned that removing Asaba as the capital would threaten the city’s economic survival and erase more than 50 years of infrastructural investment. He noted that Asaba, home to the Government House, the State Secretariat, the International Airport, and Dennis Osadebay University, is already a fully developed, functional administrative hub.
“Why should a new state, in a struggling national economy, abandon a complete capital to build a fresh one from the wilderness?” he asked, insisting that the survival of Asaba’s real estate, hospitality, and business ecosystem depends on retaining its capital status.
The monarch also cautioned against attempts to situate Anioma State within the South-East, arguing that the proposal contradicts the historical evolution of Anioma identity and poses geopolitical and security risks.
According to him, Anioma’s origins lie in the Mid-Western Region and later Bendel State, not the Eastern Region, despite ethnic and linguistic similarities with the Igbo. He warned that joining the South-East would reduce Anioma to a minority entity within an already structured bloc dominated by Anambra, Imo, Enugu, and others.
His position received strong political reinforcement yesterday as Delta North legislators and the nine local government chairmen from the district jointly rejected the proposal to site the state within the South-East.
In a statement signed after an extensive meeting, the lawmakers declared the idea “unacceptable, ahistorical, and contrary to the collective identity of the Anioma people.”
They reaffirmed their total support for Anioma State creation but insisted that it must remain within the South-South geopolitical zone, where the people are “historically, geographically, and administratively located.”
The leaders stressed that the quest for Anioma State is not a new political tactic but a “generational pursuit” rooted in the struggles of early nationalists like Chief Dennis Osadebay, whose advocacy led to the creation of the Mid-Western Region in 1963.They further maintained that the state must be carved strictly from the existing nine local government areas in Delta North Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Ika North-East, Ika South, Ndokwa East, Ndokwa West, Oshimili North, Oshimili South, and Ukwuani with Asaba as its capital.
The Delta North leaders drew a clear red line, vowing to resist any plan to reclassify Anioma into the South-East or relocate the capital.
“We will deploy our full political influence to advance the creation of Anioma State,” they stated, “but only within its historical context and on terms that protect our capital and identity.”
Their stance echoes the Asagba’s warning that Anioma supporters must act not merely as cheerleaders but as negotiators who secure binding guarantees especially that Asaba remains the capital before any legislation moves forward.