The Ministry of Interior is
currently undertaking a nationwide engagement with relevant stakeholders
to clear the air on the controversies dogging the conduct of statutory
marriage in the country .
For some time now , the Ministry of
Interior and some local government areas in Lagos , Edo , Imo and Rivers
States have been locked in legal battles over the right to conduct ,
celebrate , register marriages and issue marriage certificates .
The
LGAs have insisted that their statutory powers to register marriages
are being usurped by the Federal Government through the Ministry of
Interior . For instance , Eti- Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State
is seeking a court order to take over the popular Ikoyi Marriage
Registry being operated by the Ministry of Interior , on the contention
that the Federal Government , through the Ministry of Interior , has no
business operating a marriage registry .
The stand - off between
the Federal Government and the LGAs has created confusion in the land as
to which is valid between the marriage certificate issued by the
Ministry of Interior and that issued by the LGAs .
It was,
therefore , not surprising that the conference hall at Sheraton Hotel in
Lagos was filled to capacity last week Thursday when the sensitisation
train of the Ministry of Interior berthed in Lagos .
At the
conference with the theme , “ Achieving harmonious compliance with the
conduct of statutory marriage in Nigeria, ” the stakeholders , including
representatives of the LGAs , were eager to know the true position of
the law on who has the statutory powers to conduct , celebrate ,
register marriages and issue marriage certificates .
The
Permanent Secretary , Ministry of Interior , Mrs Georgina Ehuriah , a
lawyer , knew what was at stake and she took the issues head -on . Alluding
to the raging controversy , Ehuriah began by explaining that the
stakeholders ’ conference became necessary because there was a need to
address and lay to rest issues such as “ The poor understanding of the
Marriage Act leading to non-adherence to its provisions ; the
proliferation of marriage certificates and other essential marriage
documents ; and the raging controversy between local governments and the
Ministry of Interior as to who is constitutionally mandated with
conduct of marriages leading to litigation.”
Citing sections 24 ,
30 ( 3 ) and 30 of the Marriage Act , Ehuriah declared that only the
Principal Registrar of Marriages was authorised to print and distribute
marriage certificate to places of worship throughout Nigeria.
“
The implication is that any certificate not printed by and delivered by
the Principal Registrar of Marriages is illegal and cannot serve the
desired purposes , ” she stressed .
She noted that only 4 ,725
places of worship were licensed by the Ministry of Interior to conduct
marriages . Out of this number , however , Ehuriah pointed out that only
314 had renewed their licences. She advised the defaulting places of
worship to do the needful to avoid marriages being conducted by them to
be invalidated .
“ The implication of this is that marriages
conducted in unlicensed places of worship are not in line with the
Marriage Act and cannot serve legal purposes when the need arises ; and
as such unlicensed places of worship are operating contrary to Section 6
( 1 ) of the Marriage Act ,” Ehuriah stressed .
The Permanent
Secretary, however , said that the Ministry of Interior was willing and
was already making arrangements to give couples whose marriage
certificates were not issued in line with the Marriage Act opportunity
to bring them to conformity.
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