Sokoto plans mass wedding for 250 widows, widowers

Culled from vanguard

The Sokoto State Government said on Sunday that it would give out in a mass wedding, 250 widows and widowers across the state to give them a new lease of life.

Alhaji Zubairu Goronyo, the state Commissioner for Social Development, who announced this at the screening of the beneficiaries in Sokoto, said that the venture would gulp N30 million.

According to him, a date will soon be fixed for the exercise.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, who witnessed the screening that was done to establish the health status of the beneficiaries, reported that it was handled by various committees.

Alhaji Zubairu said that beds, mattresses, sets of chairs, curtains and two sets of female wrappers would be given to each of the 125 brides.

He said that similarly, the grooms would be given two sets of guinea brocade, N20,000 each as dowry to formalise the marriage agreement, and another N20,000 each to boost their businesses.

The commissioner said that the state governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, would serve as guardians to the brides and grooms at the ceremony.

‘The exercise is going to be on a quarterly basis, so as to enable more potential brides and grooms to benefit,” he said.