The Katsina state government has announced its plan to hold a massive wedding for 1000 young and intending couples across the state.
ENigeria Newspaper learnt of this while the Director General of the Katsina State Hisbah Board, Malam Abu-Ammar, told journalists at a livelihood support and counselling training on Thursday, that the programme, scheduled to hold April 25, 2026, aims at assisting those who are willing to marry but are limited by financial difficulties in order to lessen the burden of social vices.
He also clarified that the support programme would be the first of its kind and would attract prospective couples from across the 34 local government of the state.
“These 1,000 couples, comprising 2,000 individuals, were drawn from the 34 local government areas of Katsina State.
“This forthcoming mass wedding is one of the state government’s initiatives to reduce the burden of social vices in the state. This is because many widows, orphans, and vulnerable individuals are unable to get married despite their willingness due to socioeconomic challenges,” Abu-Ammar said.
Commissioner for Women Affairs A’isha Malumfashi, who was also speaking to the training attendees, stated that all intended recipients had undertaken the required screening before being chosen.
“All the 1,000 couples have undergone medical screening and verification to confirm their health status and compatibility,” the commissioner said.
However, further findings by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism show that the Katsina state government set out N100 million for this programme in the Katsina State Hisbah Board’s 2026 budget under the capital projects division. There was also an identical budget item cost the state $39 million between January and October of 2024.
Despite this massive budget for wedding, findings have shown that the state has one of the highest rates of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Over 300,000 children in the state do not attend school, according to a UNICEF representative in 2025. The organization connected the lack of resources, poverty, insecurity, and restricted school access to the education issue.
Although the entire cost of the mass wedding has not been made public, it is anticipated to include expenditures for logistics, venue selection, transportation, medical screening, and couples’ household assistance. Also, it is expected that brides would be empowered, while grooms would receive support packages to ease the financial demands associated with marriage.
Just like the situation in Katsina now, northern state governments have traditionally included mass wedding programs in their social welfare initiatives. State governments claim to assist low-income families in lowering marriage costs.
