Engineer Sule bans Muslim pilgrims board from accommdating non residents on pilgrimage

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By our correspondent

Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, has directed the Nasarawa State Muslims Welfare Pilgrims Board, to henceforth desist from allowing people who are not from Nasarawa to use the state as platform to travel to Saudi Arabia for the holy pilgrimage.

Engineer Sule handed down the directive while being presented with the 2023 Hajj Report, by the state Amir-ul-Hajj, Justice Aisha Bashir Aliyu, who is also the Chief Judge of the state, at the Government House, on Monday.

According to the Governor, it’s totally unacceptable and unfair, to allow people from other states to use Nasarawa State as platform to perform Hajj, especially that the Nasarawa State Government is expending huge amount of money as subsidy for the pilgrims.

Engineer Sule directed that henceforth, one hundred percent of the pilgrims must be residents of Nasarawa State.

To this end, he directed the board and management of the pilgrims welfare board, to put measures in place towards ensuring that only citizens of the state are allowed to pay for next year’s pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

“Our team and management need to understand, both the chairman and board members, as well as the Executive Secretary, anytime they bring people from other state, it means the state government is subsidizing to support people from other states.

“We have so many people from other states who have come to pay at our board. We should look at it carefully and in fact, we have to introduce measures to ascertain who is paying for pilgrimage. If we are allocated 2500 slots, if we have only 1200, so be it. Henceforth, it has to be 100 percent indigenes of Nasarawa State.

“If anybody wants to go on pilgrimage let him go to other states and not Nasarawa State. We are subsidizing this a lot and there is no need to take Nasarawa State’s money and taking care of people from other states. I am not discriminating, I am just trying to be fair to our people,” he stated.

The Governor warned that with the rising exchange rate, it’s totally unacceptable to allow people from other states to use Nasarawa State as platform to go on pilgrimage.

On the need to recruit more female and male welfare officers to provide guidance for pilgrims while on pilgrimage, Engineer Sule further directed the Executive Secretary of the board, Mallam Idris Ahmad Almakura, to ensure only qualified welfare officials are recruited by the board.

He explained that the quality of accommodation for the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia was as a result of his administration’s decision not to use contractors who are mostly out to make profit but who always provide all manner of accommodation for the pilgrims.

Engineer Sule said since coming into office, he has been employing the services of a link-man who was willing to accept the minimal margin but who has been able to provide befitting accommodation for the pilgrims.

The Governor used the opportunity of the event to thank the Amir-ul-Hajj, chairman, executive secretary, as well as board members, for the successes recorded during this year’s pilgrimage.

Presenting the report before Engineer Sule, the Amir-ul-Hajj, Justice Aisha Bashir Aliyu, disclosed that 2100 pilgrims were airlifted from Nasarawa State this year, with the state recording one death at the point of departure to the holy land.

Justice Aliyu pointed out that some pilgrims from the state were involved in accidents along the Keffi-Abuja expressway, as well as in Saudi Arabia, while traveling from Madina to Makkah.

While describing this year’s pilgrimage as the best so far, the Amir-ul-Hajj commended Engineer Sule for the quality of accommodation and feeding given to pilgrims from the state at the holy land.

“This year’s pilgrimage was one of the most successful. I can say this with full confidence because I have attended most Hajj operations, and I know. When our pilgrims landed in Makkah, they were shocked to see the quality of accommodation provided for them. In fact, they were saying whether it was a mistake because the accommodation was more befitting. It was a five-star hotel. In each room, they had television, fridge and a laundry. And they were well fed,” she said.

She made case for the state government to retain the accommodation for next year considering its proximity to the Holy Mosque.

The Amir-ul-Hajj however called on Engineer Sule to employ additional welfare officials, especially for female pilgrims.

“I noticed because I was mostly staying with women. We had not enough welfare officials for women. We had only Malama Aisha and she had to shuttle between many women. And the female pilgrims complained to me about their own personal issues that they can not discourse with male officials. Sir, if we can have more welfare preachers both for females and males, also. Pilgrims need to be taught the basics. Even simple issues of how to use toilets,” she stated.

Justice Aisha Bashir Aliyu equally raised concern over the deliberate floating of the law banning pregnant women from going on pilgrimage, stressing that five heavily pregnant women from the state went on Hajj this year.

According to her, two of the women delivered safely while the remaining three suffered miscarriage and that, but for the efforts of the executive secretary of the board, Saudi Arabia authorities would have sanction Nasarawa State.