The Federal Government said that in the nation, only 314 places of worship had renewed their permits to perform statutory marriages.
This was made known by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Interior, Mrs. Georgina Ehuriah, who produced the disclosure in Abuja and warned that weddings carried out in unlicensed locations of worship, remained illegal just as the state would not recognize them.
While calling for worship locations to update their ministry information, Ehuriah said that only about 4,689 licensed worship places had done so.
“Presently, only about 4,689 licensed places of worship in Nigeria have updated their records with the Ministry of Interior of which only 314 have renewed their licenses to conduct statutory marriages.
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 such unlicensed places of worship are operating contrary to Section 6(1) of the Marriage Act,” she said.
