Governor of the Delta state in Nigeria,Emmanuel Uduaghan defended his country’s anti-gay law while accepting the International Leadership Award in Dublin.

While accepting the International Leadership Award given by Metro Eireann, Uduaghan likened gay marriage to paedophilia while explaining why homosexuality is a taboo in Nigeria. He said, “I am sure no one here in this country would accept a condition in which an adult can sleep with a 10-year-old girl. If that situation is not acceptable, we in Nigeria view gay marriage as such.”

Uduaghan received  applause for his strong position on this issue from the large Nigerian audience in attendance. He continued, “In Nigeria, marriage between two people is usually between a man and a woman and not just between them but between their families too.

“Whenever a couple comes together, they are not coming together by themselves, it also involves their different families, and if it is known that in that family there are married gays, the danger is that the taboo emanating from that might even affect others who are straight and that is not right.

“In marrying my wife, it was the coming together of her family and my family and blessings of the two families that made it happen”.

The new law in Nigeria states that any same-sex marriages performed in there will not be legal and will be punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Marriages performed in other countries will also be void in the country.

In attendance at the Dublin event was Minister of Trade and Development, Joe Costello.