Contingents of 259, 577 and 540 pilgrims from Oyo, Osun and Kwara states respectively on Sunday joined other Nigerian pilgrims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for this year’s Hajj, taking the total of pilgrims so far airlifted 6,141 in 14 flights.
This is even as the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has assured the pilgrims of value for the money they paid for services during the Hajj exercise.
Pilgrims from Oyo and Osun states left the Murtala International Airport in Lagos for the Holy Land at 3:33 am on Sunday, while those from Kwara departed from the Ilorin International Airport at exactly 5:40 am. Both flights landed in Madinah.
Reports from NAHCON control command for the 2022 Hajj operations revealed that as of Sunday, 4,419 Nigerian pilgrims were in Madinah, while a total of 1,722 had arrived Makkah ahead of the commencement of this year’s Hajj exercise.
The report added that of the 6,141 Nigerian pilgrims, made up of 3,265 males and 2,876 females, so far airlifted to Saudi Arabia, 5,093 landed in Madinah, while 1,048 landed in Jeddah.
The pilgrims already in the Holy Land are from Bauchi; Borno; Nasarawa; Lagos; Osun; Oyo; Ogun; Kwara and Zamfara states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
Bauchi has 758 pilgrims already in the Holy Land, while Borno has 516; FCT – 715; Lagos – 851; Nasarawa – 779; Ogun – 400; Osun – 577; Oyo 259 and Zamfara – 344.
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All the pilgrims were airlifted to Saudi Arabia in 14 flights from airports in Abuja; Maiduguri; Lagos and Bauchi and Ilorin.
The inaugural flight from the country left the Maiduguri International Airport with a total of 516 pilgrims from Borno State on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
A total of 43,008 pilgrims from Nigeria are expected to perform this year’s Hajj, which is the fifth pillar of Islam, after two years international pilgrims were not allowed to perform the spiritual exercise.
Meanwhile, an official of NAHCON already in Saudi Arabia at the weekend assured Nigerian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj exercise that they would have value for the money their paid for services during the spiritual exercise.
The official, Alidu Shutti, who is the Deputy Makkah Coordinator, gave the assurance while receiving pilgrims from Borno State in Makkah, after.spendimh some days in Madinah.
According to the NAHCON deputy coordinator in Makkah, the Nigerian Hajj body had professionals and season Hajj managers on ground in Makkah to not only guide pilgrims from the country but also ensure compliance with terms of agreement the body signed with all service providers in the Holy Land.
Shutti informed that NAHCON leadership had put in place strategies to address any identified lapses, saying that there was no room for any post-mortem solution.
He then advised Nigerian pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the country in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia throughout the duration of their stay in the Kingdom for the spiritual exercise.
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2022 Hajj: Oyo, Osun, Kwara pilgrims join other Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia
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2022 Hajj: Oyo, Osun, Kwara pilgrims join other Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia
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