{"id":2465,"date":"2026-06-26T12:25:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:25:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/?p=2465"},"modified":"2026-06-26T12:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:25:53","slug":"akwa-ibom-lawmakers-advocate-uniform-bride-price-affordable-traditional-marriages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/2026\/06\/26\/akwa-ibom-lawmakers-advocate-uniform-bride-price-affordable-traditional-marriages\/","title":{"rendered":"Akwa Ibom Lawmakers Advocate Uniform Bride Price, Affordable Traditional Marriages"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has resolved to push for the regulation and standardisation of bride prices and traditional marriage requirements across communities in the state in a bid to ease the financial burden on intending couples.<\/p>\n

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by the member representing Ikot Abasi\/Eastern Obolo State Constituency, Hon. Selinah Ukpatu, who raised concerns over the growing commercialisation of traditional marriage rites.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ukpatu told the House that exorbitant bride prices and lengthy marriage lists have made marriage increasingly unaffordable for many young people, leading to delayed marriages and other social challenges.<\/p>\n

She stressed that while cultural traditions should be preserved, prevailing economic realities require reforms that would make traditional marriages more affordable without eroding the state’s cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Following deliberations, lawmakers urged the Akwa Ibom State Traditional Rulers Council to review and standardise bride prices and marriage requirements across communities.<\/p>\n

They also called on the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to collaborate with traditional institutions and local government authorities to ensure compliance with the approved guidelines.<\/p>\n

The Assembly further mandated its House Committee on Culture and Tourism to engage relevant stakeholders and develop recommendations for marriage practices that are both affordable and culturally acceptable.<\/p>\n

In addition, lawmakers requested the Ministry of Information and the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC) to launch public awareness campaigns on the social and economic effects of excessive bride prices.<\/p>\n

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Udeme Otong, commended the sponsor for bringing forward what he described as an issue of significant social and economic importance.<\/p>\n

He also praised members for their contributions before directing the Clerk of the House, Mrs. NsikakAbasi Orok, to communicate the Assembly’s resolutions to the relevant authorities for implementation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has resolved to push for the regulation and standardisation of bride prices and traditional marriage requirements across communities in the state in a bid to ease the financial burden on intending couples. The resolution followed a motion sponsored by the member representing Ikot Abasi\/Eastern Obolo State Constituency, Hon. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nigerianreporters.com\/NG\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}