The Kano State Hisbah Board has cautioned couples participating in the state government’s mass wedding programme that divorce will not be permitted without formal reconciliation procedures, following what it described as a major public investment in the initiative.
The Commander General of the Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, issued the warning during a visit to the Kano State Agency for the Control of AIDS (KSACA), where medical screening for prospective couples is currently ongoing.
Daurawa said any couple seeking separation must first pass through the board’s reconciliation framework, stressing that efforts would be made to resolve marital disputes before divorce is considered.
“We don’t allow divorce. Any person who wants for any reason to divorce has to come to Hisbah since this is where the marriage was contracted,” he said.
He added that a reconciliation committee would intervene in all marital disagreements to ensure stability in the unions.
The Hisbah chief explained that the state government had committed significant resources to the mass wedding programme and expected the marriages to be stable and sustainable.
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf introduced the initiative to support underprivileged residents who struggle with the financial burden of marriage, Daurawa noted.
According to him, the government will sponsor about 1,500 couples under the scheme, providing household items such as furniture, wedding boxes, clothing materials, and food supplies.
He further disclosed that each couple would receive N200,000—comprising N100,000 as dowry support and another N100,000 as business startup capital—alongside staple food items.
“This is an investment of over N250 million,” he said.
Daurawa also revealed that many beneficiaries of previous editions of the programme have since built stable homes, with some naming their children after Governor Yusuf in appreciation of the intervention.
He urged intending couples to take their marriages seriously and work towards maintaining peaceful homes.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of KSACA, Dr. Usman Bashir, said the ongoing screening exercise aligns with the state’s compulsory premarital health policy signed into law in 2024.
He explained that about 3,000 prospective couples are being screened to ensure medical fitness before marriage, adding that those cleared would receive certificates, while those with health concerns such as sickle cell incompatibility would be advised appropriately.
Bashir added that the government is fully funding the exercise and would also provide treatment support where necessary.
Some beneficiaries of the programme expressed gratitude to the state government for the initiative, describing it as life-changing.
A prospective groom, Magaji Muhammad, said the programme fulfilled his long-standing desire to marry after years of financial difficulty, while his fiancée, Wasila Kabiru, prayed for the success of the scheme.
Another participant, Umar Ahmad Abdullahi, said the initiative had eased his long wait for marriage, noting that the health screening process was also important for the wellbeing of couples.