Date: 2016-10-27

Mr Femi Adebayo, the Special Assistant to Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed on Arts, Culture and Tourism, on Wednesday said 25 brides would participate in the Shawo mass wedding.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, also known as Awon Mass Wedding, would hold on Friday in Shawo, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara.

Adebayo, who disclosed this at a news conference, said the mass wedding would feature a stage play parading Nollywood stars such as Ronke Oshodi-Oke, Alhaji Wasiu Pasuma as well as other members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria in Kwara.

He expressed the hope that the ceremony would generate some revenue for the state as well as attract tourists from within and outside the country. According to him, the Awon Mass Wedding has its origin in a one-breasted woman who had helped an indigene of Shawo.

He explained that the woman was revered and became a deity who instructed the people of Shawo to always marry off their daughters in mass weddings. The governor's aide also said that government was keen in promoting tourism in the state, adding that efforts were on to renovate important landmarks in the state.

"There are some sites that are better in Nigeria than outside the country. "We have arranged for investors to turn the Flower Garden in Ilorin into a tourist site," he said.NAN