The federal government has approved the establishment of 20 new federal marriage registries across the country.
The minister of interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this yesterday in a statement issued by the department of press and public relations and signed by Towoju Raphael.
According to the statement, the minister was speaking in Abuja at a national stakeholders’ conference on the ‘Administration and conduct of statutory marriage in Nigeria.’
It further stated that Aregbesola who was represented by the permanent secretary in the ministry Dr Shuaib Belgore said efforts were being made to have federal marriage registries in all the state capitals of the federation.
Aregbesola said the conference was convened to inform stakeholders and enlighten the public on some new guidelines and important aspects about the administration and conduct of statutory marriages in the country as well as the amended legal notices in the Marriage Act.
He said the amended legal notices had changed the dynamics of the administration and conduct of statutory marriages in Nigeria and 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.
“The beauty of this arrangement is that it brings the services of this ministry, via the marriage registries, closer to the grassroots, thus reducing the need to travel relatively long distances to get married at a federal marriage registry,” Aregbesola said.
Some of the guidelines are i) that 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; ii). Local government councils that have recently been designated as marriage districts may now nominate officers as local government registrars of marriage and must procure marriage certificate booklets from the ministry of interior; iii) The nomination of local government registrars of marriage and the deputies by the local government authorities should be endorsed and registered by the permanent secretary of the ministry of interior who is the principal registrar of marriages in Nigeria; iv) The printing and issuance of marriage certificate booklets to licensed places of worship and marriage registries is the sole responsibility of the principal registrar of marriages; v) The ministry of interior has the sole authority to issue the only valid and legally recognised certificate of marriage known as FORM E.
“It is my utmost pleasure therefore, to inform you about one of the major achievements of the ministry which is the successful review of the contents of the 2nd Schedule to the Marriage Act known as the Legal Notices.
“The review has brought the Legal Notices in conformity with the present administrative and political realities in Nigeria today while the amendment of other sections of the Marriage Act is ongoing,” the minister said.
He stated that at the ministry’s maiden stakeholders’ conference on the conduct of statutory marriages in the third Quarter of 2019 held Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt respectively one of the recommendations was the need for more conferences to educate the public on issues pertaining to statutory marriages in Nigeria.
“This conference is one of many more to come, aimed at continuously educating and informing the public on the importance of statutory marriages and the statutorily recognised certificate of marriage (FORM E), to inform stakeholders about various innovations in the administration of statutory marriages and to provide a platform for a robust exchange of ideas that will promote the institution of marriage,” he added.
Participants at the conference included representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSIA), Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, permanent secretaries, federal ministries of justice, information and culture, foreign affairs, women affairs and social development among other critical stakeholders.
