Niger Speaker Offers Scholarship, Sponsors Marriage For Indigent Families, Others
Mary Akanbi
13th May, 2024
The Speaker, Niger State House of Assembly (NSHA), Right Honourable Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji has taken up the responsibility of sponsoring the marriages of no fewer than 100 indigent children from his constituency, especially girls that lost their parents and breadwinners to Boko Haram terrorists and armed bandits.
Sarkin-Daji, representing Mariga said he decided to sponsor the marriages out his genuine concerns that the beneficiaries (men/women) who are ripe for marriage but cannot afford to foot the bills as custom and tradition demands in Mariga Local Government Area to encourage them.
Contrary to erroneous insinuations, the Speaker said he decided to take up the responsibility of footing the bills for the marriages out of his sympathy for the families, some of whom are dead and there’s no iota of truth about their being given out in marriage against their wish.
The Speaker made the clarifications in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and communications, Malam Shamsudeen Lawal Binaira, insisting that the girls who are in two categories are being given out in marriage according to their wish.
Over 50 percent of the girls, according to the statement have suitors, but their parents or guardians are poor and have not the wherewithal to meet marriage expenses as required by customs and traditions of the people.
The second category of beneficiaries, according to the statement are those that have lost their parents to insecurity in the area and have nobody to finance their wedding even though they have suitors.
“Majority of the girls are orphans who have lost their parents, including children of our gallant vigilante groups who lost their lives to the armed bandits and therebis nobody to finance their wedding even when they have attained marriage age and have someone who is ready to marry them”.
“The girls are not being married out against their wish or that their husbands are been forced on them for any reason whatsoever, they have suitors of their choice but the only that their parents/relatives do not have the money to sponsor the traditional rites required before they are given out in marriage”.
According to the tradition of the Hausas, Binaira said you cannot give out a girl in marriage without providing her with some essentials she will be taking along with her to make her comfortable in her husband’s house such as furniture, including bed, mattress, and kitchen utensils.
“That is what the girls are lacking and that is the responsibility the Speaker has agreed to shoulder in order to relieve the parents of the financial burden”, adding that the parents to many of the girls have been postponing the marriage rites for lack of money.
Meanwhile, the Speaker have also recently paid the fees for this year’s Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination for about 100 candidates from Mariga Constituency.
The 100 beneficiaries will also enjoy free Computer Base Test (CBT) to enable them get acquainted with the knowledge and the use of computer before the JAMB examination in addition to the 137 indigent students from Mariga Constituency that have so far benefited from the Speaker’s scholarship programme into choice higher institutions in Nigeria.
