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.
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