Toba Suleiman
2 January 2009
Ado-Ekiti — National Hajj Commission (NAHCOM) has said no Nigerian Pilgrim would be stranded in Saudi Arabia after the completion of all Hajj injunctions.
A statement on the website of NAHCOM noted that a total of 65,682 Pilgrims had been airlifted back home, representing 77 per cent of all pilgrims who performed this year's Hajj.
Liad Tella, Federal Hajj Commissioner in charge of policy, personnel management and finance, in the statement noted that the targeted final airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back to Nigeria was on or before January 6, 2009, under the principle of first come first to leave.
According to him, 164 flights had been operated on the return leg so far, adding that 254 flights were operated during the outbound journey and might be increased due to introduction of five additional 747 aircraft to replace the 752 used. More trips have been made to Nigeria by the airlines since last Monday, while seven flights of Boeing 747 have been leaving for different airports in Nigeria daily since Saturday, December 20, 2008.
Tella said only 19,318 pilgrims out of the 85,000 that performed the Hajj are still in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, adding that efforts are on to ensure that all the pilgrims are airlifted back to Nigeria even before the January 6 deadline.
NAHCOM Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, said the rule of first come first to go must be obeyed and followed. "No pilgrim is bigger than the other before Allah," he said and pleaded with those hoping to jump the queue to follow the path of honour and Islamic guidance, which is against cheating.
Bello warned that NAHCON will exploit the act establishing it to the fullest, to take drastic measure against anybody or group who may be involved in misguided action when it is not their turn to leave the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia .
He further clarified that the first leg of the airlift operation took 22 days.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
