The Kano State Hisbah Board has begun the registration of prospective couples for the next batch of mass wedding in the state.
Director-General of the board, Abba Sufi, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Tuesday.
He said the registration followed a directive by the state government to the board.
“The State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, directed us to register interested couples for the programme,” he said.
Sufi said following the directive, the board instructed its offices in the 44 local government areas to start the registration from Monday, August 8.
“Unlike before, only married men with one wife will be allowed to benefit from the programme now.
“We are registering two categories of couples, those who already have suitors and those with no suitors but hoping to get them at the board,” Sufi said.
He said the change in the policy was necessary in order to check abuse of the programme by some individuals.
Sufi said the government’s decision to continue with the programme was borne out of the desire to check immorality, especially among young girls, widows and divorcees.
He said the measure would help check prostitution and other social vices, especially among young women.
He called on interested couples to register at Hisbah offices in their respective local government areas of the state.
Former Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso introduced the mass wedding in 2012 as part of efforts to check prostitution among indigent but unmarried young people.
No fewer than 5,000 indigent widows, divorcees and young women have so far benefitted from the programme.
