Kano State Government through Hisbah (Sharia police), on Wednesday, confirmed that it has procured a set of furniture, food items, as well as clothing materials for N1,800 intending couples under its mass wedding scheme with over N800 million as budget. Commissioner for Information, Halilu Baba Dantiye confirmed to the Guardian that the mass wedding ceremony was part of the state palliative initiative. He hinted that a plan was underway to unveil the distribution of grains to the less privileged amid criticism on how interventions that were meant to cushion the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy was converted to fund mass wedding.
The Kano State Hisbah board Commander-General, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, who made the disclosure, while inspecting procured items for the mass wedding, said the state government has earmarked the sum of over ₦800 million for the procurement of furniture, clothing materials, food items, including bride price among, others. He explained that each bride would receive a set of bed and bedding, including ₦20,000 to kick start a business.
Also, Aminu disclosed that philanthropists and wealthy individuals have pledged to contribute toward the success of the planned mass wedding. Aminu noted that not less than 1,800 couples are expected to benefit from the kind gesture, which he believes will address societal vices and poverty bedeviling the society.
He explained that many marriages were often deferred due to the inability of parents to underwrite the expenses of the wedding. However, he promised to communicate to the stakeholders the date and venue of the mass wedding as soon as arrangements were concluded, just as he called on philanthropists to assist in achieving the desired objectives.
More so, the commander-general explained that criteria had been instituted for the selection of beneficiaries, cautioning that anyone found guilty of divorcing his wife after the mass wedding, would be compelled to pay for the free items he received from the state government.
To ensure the hitch-free mass wedding, he appealed to wealthy individuals to support the state government by assisting the less privileged in society toward tying the nuptial knots for peaceful co-existence.
