THE Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has pleaded with all intending pilgrims to complete the payment of their Hajj fare on or before Tuesday, May 2.
The board’s secretary, Mr Saheed Onipede, made this plea on Tuesday following the directive of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) that all State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards should remit Hajj fare paid by intending pilgrims by April 21.
“Hajj operation is very much around the corner and in order for us to meet the timeline set by NAHCON for remittances, every intending pilgrim must play their part of the bargain,” Onipede said, according to a statement by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs of the board, Taofeek Lawal.
According to him, the affected intending pilgrims are those who paid N1,300,000 and N2,640,000 since 2019 and are yet to pay the balance to meet up with the approved current Hajj fare of N3,200,000.
While appealing to those affected to ensure that they pay up on or before the deadline, Onipede said failure to do so would jeopardise their chances of visiting Saudi Arabia with the current batches.
The board scribe emphasised that early remittance to NAHCON would guarantee the state securing comfortable and decent accommodation, as well as other necessary amenities for better welfare of pilgrims in the holy land.
Onipede said the new directive was to complement the earlier statement issued by the board in which the intending pilgrims were directed to pay NAHCON’s fare on or before the April 21 deadline while the N200,000 added by the state for hadiyyah (sacrificial) ram, medical screening, ziyyarah (visits) to historical sites both in Makkah and Madinah and others not captured by NAHCON be paid within a two-week extension window.
In a related development, the board will tomorrow commence weekend lectures for all the intending pilgrims.
According to Onipede, the lectures, which will be facilitated by Islamic scholars and clerics accredited by the board, will be held simultaneously in all the local government areas of the state.
He said the lectures were designed to enlighten the intending pilgrims on the Hajj rites as prescribed by the Holy Qur’an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. He implored the intending pilgrims to attend the lectures at their various council areas and maximise the benefits.
