Minister Battles Speaker Planning to Marry off 100 Girls

Niger’s House of Assembly Speaker has tried to temper his rage in his on-going face-off  with the women affairs minister.

Speaker  Abdulamlik Sarkindaji told newsmen Tuesday Kenneth Uju has overstepped her bounds by taking him to court.

The bone of contention is the mass wedding the speaker had planned for 100 orphaned girls from  his constituency.

“It was aimed at alleviating the suffering of the impoverished,” the Speaker said. He has also settled the dowries for the bridegrooms, the bridal items, and other expenses.

Uju, however, said the plan is “unacceptable”.

She cited the Child’s Rights Act, and her decision that it is no more business as usual.

“These children must be considered, their future must be considered, the future of the children from their marriage must be considered,” she said.

“And I have filed for an injunction to stop him from whatever he is planning to do on the 24th.” 

A thorough investigation is underway to find out whether the girls gave their consent, their ages, and their bridegrooms.

The Speaker said he’d already made funds available to the girls’ parents through his constituency’s  traditional leaders and clerics. And there’s no going back.

He also clarified the media misrepresentation trending. The motive for undertaking the funding of the mass wedding is to reduce poverty—not for a constituency project as the media earlier reported.

Mass weddings have become philanthropy politicians claim they use to alleviate poverty in some states in the north.

Former presidential candidate Rabiu Kwakwanso sponsored many of them when he governed Kano. His party man and current Gov Kabir Yusuff has made it a state function, too.

The NBS says 65 percent of the poor in Nigeria live in the north.