Ondo intending pilgrims lament delay in Ilorin Hajj Camp

Intending Pilgrims from Ondo state have been lamenting delay at the Ilorin Hajj camp, calling on the Federal Government to address the challenges being faced by them at the Ilorin Hajj Camp before their departure, on the issuance of visa.

A member of the Hajj Commission, Alhaji Abdulrahman Imam who made this appeal in an interview with journalists at the Ilorin Hajj Camp, Kwara State, said the federal government should look into the plights of the people, saying pilgrims’ intention for Hajj operation should be looked into.

He said intending pilgrims should be able to perform their Hajj operation hitch-free noting that “they do not have families here and they have been here for the past eight days. There is nothing that government cannot do to assist them”

According to him, all intending pilgrims from Ondo should not blame the Ilorin Hajj commission for their predicament, saying the delay was due to the issuance of visas which is affecting all states.

He said: “Every state is doing its operation, but is only joined through the zone to be airlifted from the Ilorin International airport.

“If they finish their operation, they will come to Ilorin to be airlifted. Ilorin has nothing to do with their delay.”

He appealed to Ondo and Ekiti state governments to come to the assistance of intending pilgrims at the Ilorin Hajj camp to ameliorate their challenges.

Responding, the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, FOMWAN, Ondo state charter, led by Alhaja Medinat Omikunle, appealed to the intending pilgrims to be patient and that they shall soon be airlifted.

She said the team were at the camp to sensitize the pilgrims on the Hajj rites at the holy pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The almost frustrated intending pilgrims from Ondo State expressed their disappointment over the delay they are encountering.

Some of the intending pilgrims who spoke on the condition of anonymity with journalists, lamented their ordeal, saying that they have exhausted their money and had been starving for days now.

In a telephone conversation, the Ondo State Chairman of the Muslim Welfare Board, Alhaji Dhikrullah Adams Chandy said he is in Abuja to facilitate the speedy airlifting 0f the pilgrims.