 |
| Senator Ayo Akinyelure | credits: http://www.senatorakinyelureondocentral.com/bio.html |
The member representing Ondo Central
Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Ayo Akinyelure,
wept before members of his constituency in Akure on Monday as he
apologised to them that he voted in error to support the senate
resolution backing marriage of underage girls.
Akinyelure was summoned by his
constituents to explain his role in the controversial passage of a
resolution to retain the provision of Section 29 (4) (b) of the 1999
Constitution, which states that a married underage girl is deemed to be
an adult.
Politicians, women groups and students
had besieged the Adegbemile Hall, venue of the meeting, with placards to
protest against what they described as the legalisation of sexual abuse
of young girls, which their representative had supported.
But Akinyelure burst into tears as he
laboured to convince the obviously enraged crowd at the tension-soaked
session that he mistakenly pressed the wrong button during the
electronic voting exercise thinking that he was voting against child
marriage.
The Senator said he had aligned his
thought with that of other senators, who supported the resolution that
the provision should be expunged from the constitution.
He added that the resolution was
paraphrased again in a way that confused him to mean that pressing the
‘No’ button would mean voting against the resolution that the resolution
should be retained in the constitution.
He said, “I am very sorry for this
costly mistake. I actually voted in error. I pressed the ‘No’ button
during the electronic voting session, thinking that I was kicking
against the early marriage. I can never support such barbaric and wicked
bill.”
As a fallout of the tension, supporters
of the embattled senator and the protesters clashed at the premises of
the meeting, while a photojournalist with the Hope newspapers, Mr. Abayomi Adefolalu, who tried to take their shot was beaten while his camera was damaged.
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Women Lawyers, has criticised Senate resolution on child marriage.
Reacting to the decision of Nigeria’s
upper legislative chambers on the contentious issue on Monday,
Secretary, FIDA, Edo State branch, Mrs. Maria Edeko, described the
development as disturbing and called for the removal of Section 29,
sub-section 4(b) from the (1999) Constitution.
0 Comments