Minister of Women affair makes u-turn, backs Niger mass wedding

The Minister of Women Affairs has backed the mass wedding of 100 female orphans in Niger State, days after she vehemently opposed to it.

The minister’s aide, Adaji Usman, in a statement on May 23, said she is giving out scholarships and various gift items to the 100 brides whose wedding is today, March 24.

However, according to the minister, the media were to be blamed for escalating the initial controversy surrounding the marriage of the 100 orphans, saying, “I did not intend to stop the marriage but to be sure if the girls are of marriageable age and were not being forced into it.

Every parent will want to marry out her wards if they attain the right age for marriage. The initial opposition to the planned marriage was misunderstood, hence the media war between my office and the speaker’s.”

Kennedy-Ohanenye commended Mr Sarkindaji and promised that the girls would be closely monitored in their various husbands’ houses so that the empowerment scheme’s objectives would not be defeated.