Kebbi State government on Sunday gave out no fewer than 300 ladies in marriage to their various suitors at a colourful ceremony at the premises of the palace of Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammed Illiyasu Bashar.
The marriage ceremony which was presided over by the State governor, Comrade (Dr.) Nasiru Idris, represented by the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Muhammad Usman Ankwe advised them to be friendly and confident of themselves.
The event was organised by the Nafisa Nasir Development Foundation, NANAS, founded by the wife of the Governor, Hajiya Nafisa Nasir Idris as the Governor announced that such mass weddings would be held periodically to assist less privileged men and women to be joined together as husbands and wives.
The governor stated that his administration provided a total sum of twenty-one million naira as dowry for the 300 brides from the 21 local Government Areas of the State, with each bride getting a dowry of N70,000.
He added that the administration also provided room furniture and foodstuffs to all the couples to consolidate their marital relationship, adding that the mass wedding has been solemnised after wide consultations with Islamic scholars in consonance with the Practice of the Noble Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (SAW), who authorised his followers to enter into marriage allegiances for the good of the society and bearing blessed offsprings.
The governor therefore advised all the couples to respect the institution of marriage, saying that the grooms must protect the rights and privileges of their wives while the brides must remain loyal and supportive to their husbands.
He commended his wife, Hajiya Nafisa for striving hard to actualise the mass wedding which is the first of its kind in Kebbi State to reduce the number of divorcees and assist less privileged men to be married.
In her speech, the wife of the Governor, Hajiya Nafisa Nasir Idris who is also the founder of the Nanas Foundation, expressed immense appreciation to her husband for providing the necessary moral and material support that made the mass wedding possible.
She advised the couples to respect one another as well as protect individual rights and privileges between husband and wife. (Tribune)
