By our reporter
The Kano State Government’s mass wedding programme, which brought together about 3,000 couples, has come under public scrutiny following concerns over the apparent exclusion of some groups from the initiative despite its statewide scope.
An investigation by The Northern Star online, found that no person living with a physical disability was among the beneficiaries of the programme.
The findings have raised questions about whether adequate efforts were made to ensure that persons with disabilities were given equal access to the government-sponsored initiative.
The investigation also revealed that although the Kano State Hisbah Board announced that Christian couples were eligible to participate in the mass wedding programme, no Christian couple was identified during the ceremony held at the Government House in Kano.
Correspondents of The Northern Star online, that monitored activities throughout the event and toured the entire wedding venue, including different sections of the podium where the couples were seated. At no point during the exercise was any Christian couple identified among the beneficiaries.
The newspaper further established that Kano State is home to Hausa Christian communities, including those commonly known as Maguzawa, who reside across several local government areas. As citizens of the state, members of these communities are also expected to benefit from government social intervention programmes where they meet the required conditions.
The absence of beneficiaries from these communities has raised questions about whether the programme reflected the diversity of Kano State.
Observers argue that public resources should be distributed fairly and that state-sponsored initiatives should be accessible to all qualified residents without discrimination based on religion or physical ability.
Stakeholders have called on the organisers to explain whether Christian couples, including members of the Maguzawa communities, submitted applications for the programme and, if they did, why none appeared among the beneficiaries.
Similar questions have also been raised regarding the absence of persons living with disabilities.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Kano State Government nor the Kano State Hisbah Board had issued an official explanation regarding the apparent absence of Christian participants and physically challenged beneficiaries, despite the earlier announcement inviting Christian couples to participate.
Analysts say a transparent review of the selection process would strengthen public confidence in future editions of the mass wedding programme. They maintain that government-funded social welfare initiatives should reflect fairness, equal opportunity and inclusiveness so that every eligible community in Kano State has the opportunity to benefit.
All effort put across Director of Media and Publicity to Governor Abbah Kabiru, Mustapha Sanusi Tofa as his phone rang severally but refused to pick and also Whatsapp text him could not respond.
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