Malam Mustapha Saleh, Special Adviser to Jigawa governor, Muhammad Badaru, has disclosed that the Jigawa State Government has sponsored and conducted the wedding of 270 selected girls who are orphans in the state.
He made this known on Saturday in Dutse during the exercise in Dutse.
Saleh said that 10 orphans were selected from each of the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.
“Ten beneficiaries were selected from each of the 27 wards of the state by the committee shouldered with the responsibilities of selecting and screening the eligible beneficiaries.
“And they selected based on merit, not political affiliation or any other thing,” he said.
Saleh further disclosed that more than N93 million was spent by the state government to sponsor the weddings, including the provision of complete house furniture to the beneficiaries.
According to him, the gesture was part of the government’s effort to support the poor and vulnerable in the state.
Saleh added that medical tests, including HIV/AIDS test, were conducted on the couples in order to ascertain their genuine health status before the marriage.
“We decided to conduct the medical test because it was the best way to engender trust in the minds of the couples.
“The screening conducted had been a success story, as none of the couples was found to be carrying diseases that will disqualify him from benefitting from this kind gesture.
“And this is because joining the couples in suspicious circumstances will make them distrust each other which might end up destroying the relation,” Saleh said.
In her remarks, the wife of the state governor, Hajiya Asma’u Badaru, who distributed furniture and other items to the beneficiaries, urged them to live in peace with their respective husbands.
According to her, living in peace would make the union last long.
She also reminded the couples of the need to imbibe the fear of Allah, in dealing with their marriage.
