Wedding Suspended as Minister & Niger State Speaker Team Up to Empower 100 Girls

The scheduled marriage of one hundred girls in Niger State has been put on hold, according to Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye.

Kennedy-Ohanenye said this after a meeting with Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.

The emir of Kotangora, Mohammed Mu’azu, was also present during the meeting.

Sarkindaji had said last week that, in accordance with his constituency duties, he would support the girls’ May 24 wedding.

Social media users expressed outrage at the development, arguing that the speaker ought to have used the funds to provide the girls with training or education.

Kennedy-Ohanenye intervened on Monday, requesting that the speaker cancel his intentions or risk legal repercussions.

Addressing journalists after the meeting, the minister said she and Sarkindaji have reconciled their differences and are now partnering to seek better alternatives for the girls.

Kennedy-Ohanenye said she secured an injunction from the Minna high court to restrain the organisers from proceeding with the wedding.

She added that “the court injunction still subsists till we resolve all grey areas”.

“I want to let you know that as I speak to you now, I’m at peace with my royal father, Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Bara’u Mu’azu, and I am in good terms with my brother, the Speaker. We have made peace,” Kennedy-Ohanenye said. [CONTINUE READING HERE]