200 flights to airlift 99,000 pilgrims for hajj (Who is paying for it?)

Posted by admin Headlines Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

No fewer than 99,000 pilgrims would be airlifted in 200 flights from 12 centres, across the country, for hajj, it has been disclosed.
This is even as the Federal Government has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for raising the standard of hajj operations since coming on board in 2007.

Vice President, Namadi Sambo was told this at the flag-off of the inaugural flight of the year 2011 hajj operations, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. He said: “We note with delight, the modest transformations that have been recorded generally in hajj operations, the impact of which has gone a long way in facilitating smoother hajj experience for the average Nigerian pilgrim.”

The vice president, while urging the commission to consolidate on the gains recorded, tasked other stakeholders in hajj operations to ensure that optimal success was achieved in such programmes as “the tradudiyya transportation system, the harmonised feeding arrangement in Munah and Arafat, the new concept of accommodation in Madinah as well as luggage management strategies being deployed.”

To the pilgrims, Sambo enjoined them to be good ambassadors of the country in their conduct and be steadfast in their prayers. He also appealed to them, to offer a special prayer “for our dear country for peace, progress and prosperity.” The vice president, while assuring that government would continue to render all possible assistance to the success of hajj operations, advised them to take good care of themselves by feeding well; to avoid exposure to diseases and also to utilise their travel allowances in the most judicious manner.

Sambo used the occasion to express the gratitude of the Federal Government to the Saudi authorities for “the services they have always rendered to our pilgrims, including the timely issuance of hajj visas.”

-Sunwp_posts