The chairman of the Ebonyi State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Abas Egwu, said this in Abakaliki when he received the National Organising Secretary of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria (ADS), Alhaji Ibrahim Kilani, who visited ADS members in the state.
According to Egwu, it is imperative for the Muslims in other parts of the country to help in the areas of establishment of Arabic and Islamic schools and building of mosques for ease of practice of Islam and the propagation of the religion in the eastern part of the country.
He commended what he called the fairness and impartiality of the state government towards Islam and Muslims, describing Ebonyi as the only state in eastern Nigeria which has a Muslim pilgrims board that is independent of the Christian board.
Alhaji Ibrahim Kilani said he was in the state to meet members of the Abakaliki branch of the ADS to rub minds with them on the fortune of the organisation.
Kilani, a former chairman of the Ondo State Pilgrims Welfare Board and member, National Technical Committee on Hajj, commended the state government for looking after the welfare of pilgrims and for appointing Hausa and Yoruba as members of the board.
The leader of the Muslim community in the state and Vice President General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr Haroun Ajah, described ADS as a force to reckon with in the state.
He used the occasion to commend Dangote Group for donating items to the state’s Muslim community during the last Ramadan.
The Seriki Hausawa in the state, Alhaji Danjomo Gambo, who was equally visited by Alhaji Kilani, commended the ADS for its impact in the state.