The Leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN has urged all Churches in Edo State to be part of the developmental vision of Edo State Government to Make Edo Great Again by paying their registration fees for their place of worship where marriages are conducted.
Edo State Chairman of CAN, Bishop Oyonure Kure made the call during a stake holders meeting with the Christian community in the state organized by the Ministry of Youth and Gender Issues at the Festival Hall in Government house.
The CAN Chairman said, “ the purpose of the meeting has been achieved and the leadership of CAN thank the government for waiving the backlog not paid by some churches and for retaining the N50, 000 annual registration fee and N15, 000 annual renewal fee.
“To the churches, we are not going to have any problem complying with this directive which was agreed upon some time ago at Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre. If you have ten branches and you conduct marriages in five branches, it is that five branches that should be registered . But if you choose to conduct marriages in all the ten branches , you will pay more.”
The Chairman of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria PFN, Pastor (Mrs. ) Margaret Agbonifo and other church leaders who concurred with the CAN chairman noted that the registration of their churches to be eligible to conduct marriages is for the benefit of the church and their members.
The Commissioner for Youth and Gender Issues, Hon. Andrew Adaze Emwanta Esq.JP who commended the body of Christ for working closely with the government said the promise of the state Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki to Make Edo Great Again is a shared responsibility.
He disclosed that the Ministry of Youth and Gender Issues is compiling a list of registered places of worship which includes Churches and Mosques licensed by the government to conduct marriages.
“The Marriage Act delegates power to the state to issue licenses to places of worship where marriages are conducted under section 13 and the law empowers us to take away the 21 days notice under form D,” he noted.
According to him, there is no conflict between the state, the Ministry of Interior and the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC registration which gives the churches status to operate.
“The Ministry of Youth and Gender Issues will have a desk officer with CAN to facilitate the registration process and this will assist us to avoid giving negative report to the Embassies that are making inquiries about the status of churches that issue marriage certificates.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communication and Orientation, Barr. Solomon Imohionsen who Enlightened the clerics on the importance of licensing their place of worship said the government is concerned because marriage is a contract and it must be done properly according to the law
“The Ministry want to regulate the conduct of marriages because foreign Embassies are calling on Edo State Government to forward names of churches that are registered to conduct marriages, “ he added
The Stakeholders meeting was attended by church leaders from across the state representing the various Christian denominations, the Director of Youth, Mr. Aisriuwa Victor, the Director of Planning, Mr. Oboh Igberaese