【全非资讯·尼日利亚】Nigeria: Ezekwesili Urges FG, States to Enforce 18-Year Minimum Ma…

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Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, has called on the Federal Government and state governments to enforce 18 as the minimum age of marriage across Nigeria, warning that child marriage continues to undermine girls' education and the country's human capital development.

Ezekwesili made the call in a statement on Sunday to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, in which she urged African governments to strengthen girls' access to education and protect them from early marriage.

She said Nigeria had 23.6 million women and girls who were married before the age of 18, the highest number in West and Central Africa.

According to her, the situation is particularly alarming in parts of Northern Nigeria, citing Jigawa State, where 78 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were first married before 18, while 63 per cent of women left school to marry.

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Ezekwesili, who is the founder of Human Capital Africa, said governments must work with traditional and religious leaders to ensure that the minimum marriage age is enforced in law and in practice in every state and community.

She also called for the removal of school fees, uniform costs and transportation expenses that prevent girls, particularly those in rural communities, from progressing to secondary school.

"A girl cannot stay in secondary school if she never learned to read," she said, linking foundational literacy and numeracy to efforts to prevent child marriage.

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来源：AllAfrica (https://allafrica.com/)
原文链接：https://allafrica.com/stories/202610120519.html
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