Lagos demands refund for inefficient service at Mina hajj camp

The Lagos State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board has called for the refund of the money paid for the installation of a new air conditioning system at its Mina tents as the service was not rendered.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Alhaji Okoya Adeniyi Muftau made the demand in an interview with journalists after receiving the delegation of Amirul hajj led by Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, at Lagos House, Makkah at the weekend.

The poor air-cooling system at Mina is a major challenge of the hajj exercise as acknowledged by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) during its post-Arafat stakeholders’ interaction on Friday in Makkah.

Speaking on the development, the Chairman of NAHCON, Abdullahi Mohammed Mukhtar noted that apart from Lagos, pilgrims from other states such as Adamawa, Osun, Taraba and Yobe were also affected by the poor cooling system in their tents in Arafat.

He promised adequate compensation to the affected states, but did not specify the mode of the reimbursement.

Muftau lamented that after paying for the installation of the new air conditioning system, all they saw was a pile of air conditioners that were not installed. He said the state later incurred extra cost to get fans to provide comfort for its pilgrims from the harsh weather condition.

According to him: “The major challenge we encountered was the ‎tent at Mina. They collected the money from us that they would give us new air conditioners but they were not installed. So we had to pay extra to provide fans for our people because the heat was unbearable.

“We are calling for the refund of our money because that is the only way we can be assuaged. We are very bitter about it. We are calling on them to refund us for the service not delivered and make amends for next year.”‎
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He, however, commended NAHCON for the efficient arrangement during the symbolic stoning of the devil at Jamarat.