Taraba Hajj officials pledge hitch free exercise

The Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Taraba State has promised a hitch free hajj exercise in Saudi-Arabia for the intending Muslim pilgrims from the state.
In an interaction with journalists yesterday in Jalingo, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Alhaji Umar Leme, was optimistic that pilgrims from the state would be accorded the best ever hospitality.

He said the board had secured comfortable accommodation in the Holy land for the intending pilgrims while good transportation facility would also be provided throughout the hajj exercise.

Alhaji Leme revealed that additional allocation of 500 hajj seats from the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has been made available to the Board, adding that no fewer than 1800 Muslim faithful would be participating in the holy pilgrimage from the state this year.

The additional 500 seats, according him, are left over from states that could not pay for the pilgrims, thereby increasing Taraba state’s allotment to 1800. Reiterating that the hajj would be hitch free, the board, he said had already entered the details and passports of 900 of the intending pilgrims into its data bank, assuring that their visas would be ready soon.

On the controversy over the fee for sacrifices in the Holy Land, the Board chief noted that the payment of the said fee to the Board was for the interest of the pilgrims.

He said “Let me start by clarifying that what we normally receive from pilgrims as sacrifice fee is N26,000 per pilgrim not N60,000 as claimed by some people” adding that “the money is meant for slaughtering of rams in the holy land which we encourage each intending pilgrim to pay for.”
The idea, he said has become relevant in order to halt pilgrims from falling into the hands of fraudsters, stating that “we brought this idea because we observed that whenever we allow people to purchase the animals individually for the sacrifice, they always fall into the hands of fraudsters.

“After receiving several complains from pilgrims who were defrauded as a result of the sacrifice, we decided to collect the pilgrims’ money and do it on their behalf.”

Contrary to speculation that such money often ends up in private pockets, Leme said, “we normally deposit the money collected in Jaiz bank which, in conjunction with the Islamic Development Bank, performed the ritual on behalf of the intending pilgrims.”