The Kano State government has announced plans to spend 2.5 billion Naira (N2,500,000,000.00) to conduct mass weddings in the state.
According to reports, the weddings would be organised quarterly across the 44 local government areas of the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Planning and Budget, Musa Shanono, disclosed this while briefing journalists on the breakdown of the state’s 2025 budget passed into law by the State House of Assembly on Friday, January 31.
LAGOS LEADS IN TECHNOLOGY START-UP, DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA, SAYS SANWO-OLU
According to Shanono, the government plans to spend N91.32 billion in the governance and service delivery sector for programmes and services which include mass weddings.
He said the commitment was to further entrench responsibility, openness, and the defence of human rights, and promote a fair society for sustainable growth while improving the living standards of citizens.
Shanono said out of the amount, N1,000,000,000 has been earmarked for Ramadan feeding, N955,000,000 for manpower statistics survey, general household survey and out-of-school children statistics and N1,049,000,000 for purchase of printing machine, rehabilitation/repairs of general water system, purchase of library equipment at the Government Printing Press.
He also explained that the sum of N267,615,310.86 has been budgeted for provision and equipping of infrastructure, production and printing of Islamic calendar and support for Islamic Da’wah programme/welfare package to new converts to Islam.
Others include N589,000,000 for security research and empowerment development, street begging special intervention coordination activities while N200,000,000 is being budgeted for procurement of office furniture, general maintenance of the accountant-general’s office and development of PFM software and reform activities, among others.
The Commissioner, however, highlighted that the approved 2025 budget has a total size of N719,755, 417,663:00, representing an increase of N170,595,000:00, equivalent of 31% over what was initially submitted, which was N549,160, 417,663.00, by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to the State House of Assembly.
While noting that the total recurrent expenditure is N262,670,660,562:65, and the total capital expenditure is N 457,084,757,100:35, Shanono noted that the budget is higher than that of 2024 by N282,417,104,875:07, which represented 65% increase.
