* Don’t check your spouse’s phones, Kwakwanso advises couples
By Nudoiba Ojen
Kano State Government has funded and officiated a wedding ceremony for over 1500 couples under a mass wedding scheme.
The state government will fix a new date for the wedding of 264 other couples who are at present undergoing medical treatment for some ailments
Most of the beneficiaries of the mass wedding are primarily widows and divorcees. The state government paid almost N50,000 in bride price on behalf of each groom to their bride.
As part of the mass wedding plan, the couples were also given N20,000 grant, a bed, bedding, food, and clothes, with the couple required to repay the gifts to the state government in case of divorce.
The wedding was a top campaign promise for the governor, Abba Yusuf of the NNPP.
NNPP National Leader, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, advised the couples against checking their spouses’ phones to avoid anything that could lead to a marriage breakup.
Kwankwaso, who spoke at the reception organised for the couples by the State Government at the Open Theatre in Kano Government House on Saturday, said, “I believe you have been advised a thousand times. Ulamas, parents, relatives, and even business people have advised you on how to live peacefully with one another.
“But, I have one single advice for you; that is checking spouses’ phones. Don’t peep at your spouses’ phones, as that is the major cause of marriage breakups these days,” he said.
He said, “We have made the right choice by electing Governor Abba Yusuf as our governor. He is a good leader who has continued our legacies. One of these legacies is this mass wedding.
“Apart from this, he is delivering mass-oriented projects. We call on the good people of Kano State to support his administration,” he said.
Earlier, Yusuf said the beneficiaries of the mass wedding were selected from across the 44 local government areas and the 484 wards of the state.
He said not less than 30 couples were selected from each of the 44 local government areas of the state.
He explained that the state government took full responsibility for the marriage, including payment of dowry, provision of furniture, wedding food stuff, and a N20,000 grant for the brides to start up small scale businesses at the comfort of their matrimonial houses.
He therefore urged the couples to live peacefully in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
Welcoming guests earlier, the Commander General, Kano Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, said no fewer than 1,500 couples tied the knot on Friday.
However, Daurawa disclosed that 264 among the 1,800 couples, who ought to have been married, were undergoing medical treatment, adding that a new date would be announced for the weddings of the remaining 264 couples.
The Islamic cleric pointed out that the wedding scheme had followed a due and transparent process, commending the state government for the kind gesture.
He prayed for the couples to have long-lasting marital bliss, as he admonished them to fear God when dealing with one another.
