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The Speaker of the
House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole yesterday said members will
work hard to ensure that marriages to underage girls are stopped in the
country.

At a meeting with
members of the Nigerian Children Parliament in Abuja who came to
present their resolution to him, Mr Bankole, who did not mention any
names, said the House has received about eight petitions on the
controversial marriage of a 13 year old girl by a Senator.

“You see, this is
not the first time it is happening; it has happened so many times in
this country and it is not necessary members of the National Assembly,
but even with people from different parts of Nigeria and I say again
people from different parts of Nigeria. It is not peculiar to a
section. But this time around, we are not having it, we are not taking
it lightly. I know that about seven to eight petitions in the House are
calling that we investigate it. And when it comes to the floor of the
House, we will also look into it. I know that the Human Rights
Commission is working hard on this issue and we hope that maybe, for
the first time, people should put a stop to that kind of attitude.”

Mr Bankole said
that he has always passed on the resolutions of the Nigeria Children
Parliament to the appropriate quarters and assured that he would
continue to do so in the interest of Nigerian children.

Unhappy children

The Speaker,
however asked the young parliamentarians not to be discouraged if their
resolutions do not receive immediate attention, adding that from his
experience, not all resolutions passed receive quick treatment. “It is
not everything you asked for you that you get but you have to make sure
that you keep asking believing that one day the executive will listen
to you. Don’t ever stop; keep passing those resolutions. The history of
being Senate President or Speaker is not that of a pleasant one,” Mr
Bankole said.

On the recurring crisis in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the
Speaker said he has visited the city about four times to commiserate
with the families of the victims, some of whom are children. Earlier,
the Senate President of the Nigerian Children Parliament, Esther
Afolayan, called for an increase in the budgetary allocation relating
to children’s welfare while the Speaker of the Parliament, Emmanuel
Attah regretted the slow domestication of the Child Rights Act and
asked Mr Bankole to help.