National Publicity Secretary, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Emmah Isong, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and National Assembly to initiate steps towards creating more states in order to have a balance among the geopolitical zones.

Isong, who spoke at the University of Calabar, where he delivered a lecturer on the state of the nation and the way forward for Nigeria, said the disparity in the number of states per geopolitical zone creates an imbalance in favour of those with more number of states. He, therefore, suggested the states of the country should have an equal number of seats at the National Assembly.

“When matters are not equal on a table, the pendulum swings only in a preferred direction,” he said.

Isong, who is also a member of the United States Government Global Anti-Corruption Committee, said President Buhari should not be afraid of restructuring the country, as doing so will bring about a state of equality between the zones.

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“Restructuring does not mean scattering Nigeria into pieces, it would rather bring about a state of equality between the zones that make up the country. More more states should be created in order to balance all geopolitical zones,” he said.

He regretted that churches in the northern parts of the country are sometimes denied Certificates of Occupancy (CofO), which he said creates religious imbalance as every religious organisation is free to own land and build a place of worship in the southern part of Nigeria.

“Mosques should be given CofO in the South, and churches should be given CofO in the North. Right now, most churches in the North are denied CofO, that imbalance should be corrected,” he said.