By; SANI ALIYU, Zaria
A traditional title holder in Zazzau Emirate, Alhaji Adamu Ubaidullah the Marafan Yamman Zazzau has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider and revert to the initial Hajj fare of N4.9 m to enable the intending pilgrims perform this year’s pilgrimage.
Marafan Yamman Zazzau who made the appeal in Zaria on Monday, said the skyrocketted increase on the Hajj fare with N1.928, 032.92, is about to dash the hopes of thousands of intending pilgrims in Nigeria.
He said urgent steps have to be taken in order to save the Hajj operations from total collapse in Nigeria, despite its importance to Muslims as one of the Five Pillars of Islam.
Ubaidullah used the opportunity to call on the President of the Supreme Council of Islam Affairs and Jama’atu Nasrul Islam to rise up and call for the reversal of the Hajj fares to enable the intending pilgrims to perform their pilgrimage.
He expressed concerns that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has asked “Intending pilgrims that still wish to participate in the 2024 Hajj” to pay a balance of N1,918,032.91 latest by 11:59 pm of Thursday March 28, 2024.
According to him, Nigerian intending pilgrims have already paid about N4.9 million earlier fixed by NAHCON, depending on the departure zone as approved by government.
The traditional title holder called on federal, state and local government areas to intervene on behalf of the Nigeria’s intending pilgrims through various strategies, including persuading cost reductions.
