The Federal Government has allegedly disclosed that based on the statutory Marriage Act only 314 worship centres are licensed to conduct marriages in the Country according to Georgina E. Ehuriah, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior.
So what this means is that most of the marriages conducted in religious houses could pass for being illegal. With an estimated 4,689 places of worship that have updated their information with the Minister of Interior, 314 only have renewed licenses to conduct marriages and therefore marriages conducted in religious homes without valid licenses are contrary to Section 6(1) of the Marriage Act.
In addition to this, a process to kickstart the amendment of the Act for the 21st Century is currently in the works and arrangements are also currently in the works to provide certificates to couples who wish to align themselves with the statutory Marriage Act.
