Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has described pilgrims from the state who participated in the last Hajj exercise as worthy ambassadors.
The governor, in a statement made available to newsmen on Tuesday, lauded the pilgrims for their peaceful conduct during the exercise, saying their stay in the Holy Land was worthwhile based on the fulfilment of one of the five pillars of Islam.
The first batch of the State’s 934 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia arrived on Tuesday, while others are expected to return on Wednesday.
He noted that the state did not record any casualties, despite the huge number of deaths recorded in this year’s pilgrimage.
“On behalf of the good people of Ogun State, I welcome our dear pilgrims back home. Your successful completion of the Hajj is a testament to your devotion and commitment to your faith. We are proud of you and grateful for your safe return.
“Our government is ready to continue providing logistics support to our pilgrims for seamless and spiritually enriching experiences during the Hajj,” he said.
It would be recalled that Prince Abiodun paid the shortfall of N119,560,712.70 in the pilgrims’ Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) as a result of unexpected fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates.
While NAHCON used N1,252.01 per dollar to calculate hajj fare (BTA inclusive) to give $500 as BTA to each pilgrim, the CBN released BTA at N1,530.86 per dollar, which gave each pilgrim $415 instead of $500 earlier proposed.
Going by this development, in order to give each pilgrim $500 at the new exchange rate of N1,530.86 per dollar, the differential to be paid for the state’s 934 pilgrims stood at N119,560,712.70.
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