ICYMI: Niger Speaker Plans Mass Marriage For Girls Orphaned By Banditry As ‘Constituency Project’

• The Niger Speaker is making an unusual move for his “constituency project”.

• He is marrying off girls whose parents died in the hands of bandits.

• Sarkindaji says the mass marriage is an empowerment programme for the orphans.

Eko Hot Blog reports that that the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji, has generated reactions from various quarters after revealing plans to give out 100 female orphans in marriage.

The lawmaker, who represents Mariga Constituency, disclosed the plans to journalists on Friday.

He said the female orphans lost their parents in banditry attacks in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State.

Sarkindaji, a lawyer, pledged to pay the dowries for the bridegrooms.

He also revealed that he has procured all the materials needed for proper marriage to the 100 girls.

The Niger House of Assembly leader stated that the girls’ comfort in their matrimonial homes has been taken care of like any other child who gets married in the Islamic way.

File photo of Kano State Wedding

Sarkindaji did not disclose the age range of the girls but stated that the girls who would be married off were carefully selected from the 170 girls whose names were submitted.

Furthermore, he said the project, which would be part of his constituency empowerment project, was being done with the best of intentions and would serve as a way of ameliorating the sufferings of the poor.

He also said the Niger State Governor Mohammed Umar Bago and the Emir of Kontagora Alhaji Mohammed Barau would serve as guardians to the female orphans who would be married off.

The Kano state Commander General of the Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, is expected to attend the event slated for May 24 at Bangi, the headquarters of Mariga Local Government Area.

In 2023, the Kano state government approved a budget of ₦854 million for the first phase of the Auren Zaurawa—mass wedding initiative that offers financial assistance to young couples who cannot afford to pay for their own weddings.

The budget went to wedding expenses for 1,800 couples who also got ₦20,000 to start businesses at the event which took place at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano, last September.

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