The Zamfara state government is set to “arrange husbands” for about 2,000 widows in the state, says the state commissioner.
The state Commissioner for Women and Children Affairs, Hajia Balkisu
Bungudu who disclosed this in Gusau, during a news conference stated
that “to facilitate the process, the state government has already
registered 1,998 widows for a mass wedding that would be sponsored by
the government.”
She however did not disclose the amount budgeted by the government for the mass wedding.
It would be recalled that the Kano state government recently budgeted
N100 million for the third batch of its mass wedding in the state.
The Kano State Government said it earmarked more than N100 million
for the wedding of another batch of 1,000 divorcees and widows scheduled
for January.
The Director-General of the state Hisbah Board, Alhaji Abba Sufi,
disclosed this in an interview in Kano on Thursday. He said the board
had “since started preparation in readiness for the mass wedding”.
“The screening of the prospective couples has commenced in earnest in
all the 44 local government areas of the state,’’ he said. Sufi said
prospective couples must undergo medical checks, including HIV and AIDS,
genotype and hepatitis tests, among others.
He said following the decentralization of the programme, each of the
councils would hold the wedding prayer session for 21 couples.
He said the session for the remaining 76 couples would be performed
in Kano. Sufi said the state government would pay N20,000 dowries to
each of the brides, in addition to providing essential items for the
couples.
“The board has written to wealthy individuals and corporate
organisations for their contributions towards the success of the
programme.’’ In July last year 250 widows and divorcees were joined
under the second batch of the mass wedding.
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