By CLEMENT IDOKO

The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria has raised the alarm that many marriages are crumbling and families devastated as a result of the suffering caused by the harsh economic condition and growing insecurity where many couples are kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed in some cases.

CAN President, Olasupo Ayokunle, said this portends a dangerous trend and called on the Federal Government to something fast to save the institution of marriage and family values.

He was represented by the Assistant General Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria, Apostle Biodun Sanyaolu, at the 2021 National Stakeholders’ Conference on the Administration and Conduct of Statutory Marriage in Nigeria organized by the Ministry of Interior.

He said: “I want to appreciate the Ministry for the stakeholders’ conference. For use in the Christian community, we recognize and appreciate your efforts, especially when it is not geared towards revenue generation.

“We have noticed at recent times, the rate at which marriages are crumbly. We have looked at it and attributed a lot of reasons why it is happening. For us in Christendom, we have stepped up our teachings on marriages, improve on counselling so that couples can understand the importance of marriage.

“Several factors are affecting marriage today but because of time constraint, I will limit myself to just a few. The first is the economy. The suffering is so much and it’s affecting marriage and therefore, I want to use this opportunity to tell the government to do something about the economy of this country. It is affecting marriages so much.

“The second thing I want to make reference to is insecurity. We have had cases where couples were abducted and before the husband, the wife is raped, even the children are raped before the parents. You can imagine what becomes of such a marriage if they are successful to come out alive. This will live with them for life,” Ayokunle said.

The Minister in his keynote address delivered by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore, disclosed that the Federal Government has approved the establishment of 20 new Federal Marriage Registries and that efforts were ongoing to have Federal Marriage Registries in all the State Capitals of the Federation.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for swift endorsement and approval of the amended Legal Notices as contained in the Marriage Act CAP M6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, saying the amended Legal Notices has changed the dynamics of the administration and conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria and has put to rest the lingering disagreement between the Ministry and the Local Government Registrars of Marriage by designating the Local Government Areas and Area Development Councils of the Federal Capital Territory as Marriage Districts.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Belgore in his capacity as Principal Registrar of Marriages, approved the grant of a six months moratorium on all pending applications for original grants and renewal of licenses to conduct statutory marriages by Places of Worship. “This six-month moratorium will end in July 2021.”

He noted that the issuance and renewal of licenses to Places of Worship to enable them to legally conduct statutory marriages was stalled due to the COVID-19 lockdown that was experienced in the year 2020, and due to a failure to adhere to the guidelines by some of the Places of Worship, hence the backlog of applications.

The Ministry of Interior has the sole regulatory responsibility for the issuance of licenses to Public Places of Worship for the conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria. (Nigerian Tribune)

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