Jonathan Nanven Nicodemus, a staffer of National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in the Office of the Executive Secretary, Abuja Headquarters, on Saturday, 10th June, 2017, took his heartthrob, Vivian Onyeche Odeh, to the altar to be joined in holy matrimony.

At the church wedding, which took place at the Shepherd’s House Assembly International, Apo Resettlement, Abuja-FCT, the Assistant Pastor, Pastor Tajan Moltok, speaking on the topic: “Wisdom for a Healthy Marriage”, admonished the couple to embrace wisdom and trust as the bedrock of healthy and successful marriage, saying, ”wisdom and trust are the foundation of every healthy marriage.”

Moltok, who took the scriptural reading from the Book of Genesis Chapter 2: 21, reiterated that marriage was ordained by God, since He saw that it was not good for man to live alone and therefore made He, “a helpmeet” for the man.

Taking another scripture from Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 12, Pastor Moltok, further stressed the need for the couple to apply wisdom in their marriage stressing that, wisdom is a defence and gives life to them that have it.

His words: “For two people to live together, it takes wisdom because the training and upbringing of the man and his culture is different from that of the woman. I want you to know that marriage is of God and that is His desire; but the devil has vowed to become an enemy to the institution of marriage”.

Continuing, the servant of God stressed: “The first thing to do when you get married is to trust God for wisdom because without wisdom, you can never have a successful marriage; rather, you will remain in the shadow of yourself. To the man, for you to have quality wisdom, you must allow your wife to have a say. Women are home makers and any time you refuse the advice of your wife, you have refused wisdom to an extent”.

The pastor further enumerated five characteristics of healthy marriages to the couple, which include, prayer, trust, tolerance, patience and speaking the right words, supporting them with Bible scriptures like Proverbs 9:10, Galatians 5:22, and I Thessalonians 5:16.

The Jonathan and Vivian were joined as husband and wife, as they were pronounced Mr. & Mrs. Jonathan Nicodemus by the General Overseer of the church, Rev. Dr. Joshua Talena.

At the wedding reception that held at Acropolis Park and Garden, Zone A, Apo Resettlement, Abuja-FCT, the joy of the couple knew no bounds as they were ushered into the reception venue with dance and jubilation; just as the cutting of the wedding cake was observed by select few dignitaries and guests were also treated to a sumptuous meal and they in turn showered the couple with gift items.

Dignitaries at the wedding reception were NICO’s Director of Orientation and Cultural Affairs, Mr. Alex Omijie; Acting Director, Research and Documentation, Mr. Mike Ekoko; Directors of Bimma Hospital, Jos, Mr. & Dr. (Mrs.) Emmanuel Igo; Coordinator, NICO Training School, Abuja Study Centre, Dr. (Mrs.) Regina Onuoha; Chief Cultural Officer and Head of Research, NICO, Mrs. Maria Opuzor; Head, Academic Unit, NICO Training School, Abuja Study Centre, Mr. Patrick Obi; Head of Procurement, Mr. Pius Kemepede; and Head of Protocol, Mr. Ibrahim Malgwi, among others.

Caleb Nor & Njideka Dimgba

NICO HQ

Abuja-FCT