The Sokoto State Government has said rising costs associated with pre-wedding activities have discouraged many young people from getting married, prompting plans to strictly enforce an existing law banning extravagance during wedding preparations.

Governor Ahmed Aliyu disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by the Director-General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Sokoto, Abubakar Bawa.

According to the statement, the governor expressed concern that excessive financial demands placed on intending couples have made marriage increasingly difficult, particularly for young men and women of marriageable age.

“The growing culture of unnecessary and excessive pre-wedding activities has imposed heavy financial burdens on intending couples and has discouraged many young people from getting married,” the statement quoted the governor as saying.

Aliyu said the trend has contributed to the rising number of unmarried persons in the state and has also fuelled immoral behaviour among youths who are unable to meet the high cost of pre-wedding demands.

He explained that the state would soon begin full enforcement of the law banning extravagance in pre-wedding activities to address the situation.

“We will soon bring together relevant stakeholders to further review the existing law banning extravagance in pre-wedding activities in the state,” the governor said.

The governor noted that despite the existence of the law, reports indicate that some parents and guardians continue to flout it through lavish displays of wealth during wedding preparations.

He stressed that government intervention had become necessary to protect young people from practices that make marriage unattainable.

Governor Aliyu called on parents, guardians, Islamic scholars and traditional rulers to support the government in ensuring full compliance with the law, noting that marriage should be made easy and affordable in line with Islamic teachings.

The statement added that the governor spoke during the commissioning of the remodelled Zawiyatu Sheikh Aliyu Bunza Jumu’at Mosque and Islamiyya School in Sokoto.

At the event, the Special Guest of Honour, Sheikh Aminu Wali Ayu Zuru, commended the governor for the construction and remodelling of mosques and Islamiyya schools across the state.

“I am overwhelmed by the number of Jumu’ah mosques Your Excellency has reconstructed and remodelled in the last two years,” he said.

Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, represented by the Wazirin Sokoto, Professor Sambo Wali Junaid, praised the governor’s policies on Islamic affairs, describing them as impactful and visible across the state.

“Your policies and programmes on Islamic affairs speak volumes. You have followed the path of the founding fathers of the Sokoto Caliphate in Islamic propagation,” the Sultan said.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Dr Jabir Sani Mai Hulla, disclosed that several Jumu’ah mosques are currently at different stages of completion across various local government areas of the state.

He also revealed plans by the state government, in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, to organise workshops and training programmes for Islamic preachers, Imams and Mu’azzins.

The remodelled mosque was later commissioned by Sheikh Aminu Wali Ayu Zuru, who also led the two-rak‘ah Jumu’ah prayer.