Nigeria Federal Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has continued war of words with the Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulamlik Sarkindaji over the speaker alleged attempt to sponsor and marry off about 100 girls said maybe underage orphans whose parents were killed by bandits in Niger State.

Shortly after the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulamlik Sarkindaji, organized press conference on Tuesday to react to the minister’s petition to the Inspector General of Police over his plans to marry off 100 orphan girls, the Minister also organised a press conference same day and alleged that the senior lawmaker is marrying off the orphans she described as people of unknown age as constituency project for his people.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the speaker said he has cancelled the planned hosting of the wedding of 100 orphan girls in his constituency, saying he would not grace the occasion.

Sarkindaji took the decision following the action of the Women Affairs Minister, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, who dragged him to court.

The speaker who insisted that he did initiate the marriage move, said he was approached by traditional rulers and clerics to sponsor the project.

Sarkindaji also said those who are claiming the girls have been subjected to abuses, should carry out an investigation and hold those responsible for it not him.

He also said his motive for wanting to sponsor the wedding was because families of the girls are poor. He also said he’s not using it as a constituency project.

The Speaker said he was never contacted for clarity but conclusions were drawn over the matter.

The Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.
 

The Speaker said the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye should investigate the claims of child rights abuse.

Sarkindaji stated this while briefing journalists at the House of Assembly complex in Minna, the Niger State Capital.

He expressed displeasure over the minister’s position regarding the mass wedding and his support to orphans whose parents are not able to meet marital expenses.

Visibly upset with the negative media reports attributed to the minister, the Speaker said he was never contacted for clarity but conclusions were drawn over the matter.

This comes a day after the minister condemned the proposed marriages, stating that they violate the Child Rights Act and raise serious concerns about the ages and consent of the girls involved.

She petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, seeking his support to stop the planned marriage by the Speaker.

Kennedy-Ohanenye also filed for a court injunction to stop the planned marriage of 100 orphans said to be children by the Speaker.

According to her, the decision became necessary to stop the plan of the speaker to marry young girls due to the increasing number of orphans married to bandits.

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye in a counter press conference on Tuesday, insisted that the age of orphans is unknown and the orphans lost their parents to attacks committed by bandits and emphasized the need for all stakeholders to care more about the future of the children rather than pushing them into early marriage that may further weakened their chances of getting a bright future.

The Minister stated in quote below: “Worried by emerging developments from Niger State, I engaged the Media today to express the concerns of the Ministry over the proposed plan by the Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji to marry off about 100 female orphans who lost their parents to banditry attacks in Mariga Local Government Area.

For me, it’s not a personal issue but we are concerned about the entire process complying with our Constitutional provision on minimum age of marriage and the Child Rights Act 2003 which set the age of marriage at 18 years old and since we dont know the ages of the girls who are lined up for the cluster marriages on 24 May, 2024, the Ministry has initiated legal process of Court injunctions to put the proposed ceremony on hold while we get proper clarifications.

The office of the Inspector General of Police has also been engaged formally to carry out investigations and the whole essence is to avoid pushing the girls into marriages that are not conducive to guaranty their safety and future.

The Ministry expects the Speaker to identify ways of putting the girls through skills acquisition, sustainable empowerment and other measures to ensure that the socio-economic status of the girls is guaranteed”.