Kebbi State government has concluded an arrangement to marry off 600 vulnerable couples across the state.
Briefing journalists at the Ministry of Women Affairs in Birnin Kebbi over the development, the state’s chairman of the main organising committee of the event, Suleiman Muhammed Argungu, disclosed that the wedding and the consummation of the marriage are slated for Thursday, February 27 in the state capital Birnin Kebbi.
According to Argungu, the governor of Kebbi State, Comrade Nasir Idris, would declare the occasion open.
Argungu, who is the former deputy governor of Kebbi State, chief of staff, and currently the national organising secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), added that of 600 couples, 300 are males and 300 females, which consist of widows, orphans, and unmarried girls who needed to be married but had no means to sponsor their marriages.
“Considering their situation, the governor, through his wife, Hajiya Nafisa Nasir Idris’ Foundation (NANAS), in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Affairs, has bought all necessary items, including the dowry of N180,000 for each bride in preparation for the take-off of the massive marriage by government,” Argungu said.
“These couples were selected from each of the twenty-one local government areas of the state by the main and other subcommittees set up by Governor Idris,” he added.
He noted that the couples must undergo medical tests before February 27 to authenticate their health, which are contained in the filled forms in the marriage agreement.
The couples from low-income families were selected across the state without religious, ethnic, and political differences.