Mass Wedding Shelved, Separate Marriages Held For 100 Orphaned Girls In Niger

The planned mass wedding as did not take place in Mariga local government area of Niger State yesterday.

Our correspondent however gathered that each village head in selected villages conducted separate marriages for the orphaned girls.

Those whose marriages took place were those cleared by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs .

The minister, Uju Kennedy Ohaneenye, had visited Kontagora and conducted a thorough examination of the girls and identified those ripe for marriage.

Sources said the minister accompanied by the Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly Abdulmalik Sarikindaji gave the clearance.

Consequently, the idea of mass wedding was shelved for low key marriages in the various villages where the girls reside with the village heads and imams taking charge.

Findings revealed that the marriages of 18 of the girls were conducted in Beri, Bobi and Kompany Bobi after the Jumuat prayers yesterday.

It was learnt that 54 of the 100 marriages will be conducted across various villages in Mariga local government area of the state

The girls were given N500,000 each  for their domestic needs after the marriage and additional N50,000 for any petty business of their choice.

It was learnt that the Speaker gave the assistance but decided to stay off any of the arrangements as he said the gesture was purely for philanthropy for the girls who lost their parents to banditry.

It would be recalled that the speaker and the minister had a misunderstanding over the marriages before it was resolved following the intervention of traditional rulers in the state.