687 estranged couples reconcile in Ogun

The Ogun State Government has reconciled 687 estranged couples. This is out of the 770 cases of marital differences established, representing 85 percent success recorded in the number of cases settled out of court in the state last year.
Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Elizabeth Sonubi, disclosed this in Abeokuta at the third edition of Couples Forum organised in the state.

Sonubi informed that in 2013, 191 estranged couples were reconciled out of which 415 cases resulted in the payment of N23, 319,495 as maintenance upkeep allowance by 1,962 fathers to 4,235 children.

She said that a total of 81 court cases were withdrawn due to family intervention, 40 others resolved willingly by affected couples while 83 others are being attended to by the zonal social welfare officers in the 20 local government areas of the state.

The commissioner, who added that this year’s programme with the theme “Ensuring Harmonious Relationship” is one of the preventive mechanisms put in place for estranged couples.

Also according to her, it is to prevent the frequency of marital problems amongst couples in the state, noting that the programme had strengthened and united many families from the brink of collapse.

Sonubi stated that her ministry had embarked on life-transforming programmes aimed at promoting family harmony and peaceful coexistence in the society and that programmes such as the Women Micro-credit Initiatives, Children’s Parliament and vocational skill building are being organised to ensure a peaceful society.

She enjoined couples to learn to be tolerant, submissive and always show affection to one another in ensuring peaceful and harmonious relationship at the home front and the society at large.

“The ministry is geared towards ensuring that the home front is in order.

We believe that if we tackle them from the homes, lots of factors that encourages children out of their various homes to participate in various bad activities will not occur,” she submitted