Rivers State Government has announced a N10m fine for any couple in the state that defaults on the state COVID-19 marriages guidelines.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, made the announcement following a State Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, which was presided over by Governor Nyesom Wike.
Nsirim said the state had opened a window for prospective couples to be joined together in marriage, but must abide by the state guidelines.
He said henceforth, prospective couple must get an approval from the governor, after applying through the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Inime Chiwenwo-Aguma.
He added that all weddings and marriages in the state must have a maximum attendance of 50 persons.
The commissioner noted that church weddings must be conducted between 9am and noon and traditional weddings, between 4pm and 7pm without any form of reception, which would be supervised by a representative of the ministry, present at the venue.
“Marriages will not have more than 50 attendees including family members who must wear face masks and adhere strictly to social distancing of not less than two meters.
“While church weddings must be conducted between 9am and noon, traditional marriages would be conducted between 4pm and 7pm, violators of the guidelines would be made to pay a fine of N10 million,” Nsirim said.
The commissioner added that those seeking to bury their loved ones would also be expected to include names, addresses and phone numbers of those to attend such funerals in their applications.
Nsirim said that names, addresses and phone number of all attendees must be made available together with the application to enable a quick contact tracing should the need arise.
