The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, has intervened to halt the planned wedding ceremony for 100 orphan girls in his constituency, citing external pressure from the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye.
During a media briefing on Tuesday, Sarkindaji announced his decision not to proceed with the wedding and clarified that he would not attend the event.
He attributed this decision to the legal action taken by the Women Affairs Minister to stop the wedding, expressing his belief that Kennedy-Ohanenye should take over the sponsorship of the ceremony.
Sarkindaji emphasized that he had already provided funds to the parents of the girls through traditional leaders and religious leaders in his constituency.
He affirmed that he would not retract these funds, underlining that his intention to sponsor the wedding stemmed from the dire poverty experienced by the girls’ families, rather than being a part of a constituency project as previously reported.
Kennedy-Ohanenye’s move to seek a court injunction to halt the wedding came after reports surfaced of Sarkindaji’s plans to marry off orphaned girls who had lost their parents to banditry attacks in the Mariga local government area.
The Speaker had framed the initiative as a means to alleviate the suffering of the impoverished, pledging to cover the dowries for the bridegrooms and provide materials for the mass marriage.
While Kennedy-Ohanenye emphasized the unacceptability of the plans and initiated a full-scale investigation into the issue, Sarkindaji’s intervention has put a stop to the wedding plans for now.
