Economic Downturn Halts Northern Nigeria Mass Weddings, As 10,000 Women Register to Wed

Low global oil prices have hurt Nigeria’s economy, taking it to the brink of recession. But the resulting cash crunch has also had a more unexpected effect – on mass weddings.

More than 10, 000 women have registered for the state-sponsored programme in Kano, said Abba Sufi, director-general of the northern city’s “morality police”, the Hisbah.

“At the moment we have over 10,000 women who have registered for the mass wedding programme and are waiting to be introduced to prospective suitors when the project resumes,” he told AFP.

Sokoto State Plans Mass Wedding for 250 Widows, Widowers

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 various committees handled it.