Some intending couples scheduled to participate in the Kano mass wedding have already tested positive for Hepatitis B, HIV and sickle cell anaemia.
The spokesperson of Hisbah Board, Lawan Fagge, raised the red flag that some persons were discovered to have one health issue or the other at the point of pre-marital screening they were subjected to, as part of the conditions for taking part in the State-sponsored wedding ceremony.
Fagge said the affected spouses have since been replaced in the ongoing exercise and subjected to counseling and medication.
He said:“Based on the interim report we got from the Ministry of Health, about 40 males and females tested positive for Hepatitis B. There are those with sickle cell those who are pregnant and those with HIV. But they will be counseled and placed on medication for the next few months. They have been rejected from the exercise and made replacements. They might be considered after their medication.
“We screened about 5,000 out of which we only needed 1,800 couples,” Fagge added.
Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, had earmarked the sum of N854 million to conduct mass weddings for the over 1,800 couples in the State. The mass wedding was first introduced in the State by the Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso-led administration.
