The Kano State Hisbah Board will, on Friday (today), commence the medical screening of 1,800 prospective couples selected for the first batch of mass wedding programme by the state government.
The Public Relations Officer of the board, Lawan Fagge, who disclosed this in an interview with The PUNCH on Thursday, said the 1,800 were among the over 4,000 persons who applied to benefit from the state-sponsored mass wedding.
Fagge said the selected couples would be screened for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, genotype and drug.
“As of now, over 4,000 prospective couples have registered to participate in the state-planned mass wedding scheduled for next month.
“The medical screening is part of the prerequisite for the mass wedding and it is compulsory because anybody who fails to show up for screening will be automatically disqualified”, Fagge said.
The administration of Governor Abba Yusuf reintroduced the mass wedding scheme as part of the effort to support girls and women, including widows and divorcees, who desire marriage but lack the wherewithal to do so.
The government said it had set N800 million for mass weddings, to procure furniture, food items, clothing materials, dowry, and capital for 1,800 intending couples under the mass wedding scheme.
