Jaafar Jaafar
1 July 2009
Kano — The Kano State government has rented 15 houses in Saudi Arabia for the over 7000 intending pilgrims expected to participate in the 2009 hajj exercise from the state.
Speaking from Saudi Arabia on a special radio programme monitored on Monday in Kano , the Director General of the State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Sani Lawan K/Mata said the state government had secured the accommodation on time with a view to ensuring adequate and descent houses for the pilgrims.
According to him, the houses were hired at some strategic areas that are close to Ka'aba. "We hired houses in Shar Mansur, Jurhum and Yabalash because of their capacities, decent toilets and steady water supply," the DG said.
On the issue of e-passports, K/Mata said out of the 44 local governments in the state, 33 local governments had already received their e-passports.
He said the exercise kicked off three weeks ago, and since the flag off of the exercise, the board had succeeded in registering a substantial portion of the pilgrims.
While urging the state pilgrims to ensure the payment of the mandatory fee of N10,000 for e-passports, Alhaji K/Mata noted that without the e-passport the pilgrims might not be allowed to travel to the holy land.
While hoping that the Saudi authorities would supply enough tents, Alhaji Lawan said the tents allocated to Kano pilgrims last year were not enough.
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