*says pilgrims welfare utmost concern to the board
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim Wing) Chairman, Professor Sayed Malik on Friday, said the welfare of every pilgrim from the state remains the board’s utmost concern at all times.
Professor Malik made this known in a statement personally signed by him to dispel insinuations that some of the pilgrims from the state were denied their Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) in Saudi Arabia.
He stressed that the insinuations were unfounded and far from the true situation of things at the state’s Hajj camps in Saudi Arabia, saying, “It is not true in any way, that the Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim Wing) has diverted funds meant for the payment of BTA of the first batch of pilgrims from the state, who are currently in Saudi Arabia”.
” Such a report can only be a figment of the imagination of the writer. The truth of the matter is that there were delays in the release of BTA to the board as a result of the late release of the circular guiding the payment of the allowances by the authorities in Abuja”, he said.
Professor Malik added, ” This is not peculiar to Oyo State pilgrims, as all pilgrims across the states are faced with the same situation. As a result of the delay, the first batch of travelers from Oyo State and several other states of the federation had to embark on the trip to Saudi before the BTA could be secured”.
The Board Chairman declared that the delay, however, does not indicate that any of the travelers would lose their entitlements and that, ” by the time the second batch of travelers were leaving Nigeria, only a fraction of the entire BTA had been secured and it was concluded that each of the travelers be made to get $400 while those who were already in Saudi Arabia were paid $200 each, pending the release of the entire money by the Nigerian authorities.
“It must be placed on record that the dollar scarcity which had hit the foreign exchange market is a key contributor to the delay to secure the required BTA.While the delayed payment of the BTA is regretted, we have to place on record that there is no intention to divert anyone’s entitlement or deny any of the pilgrims their due.
“We make bold to undertake that each of the pilgrims will get what is approved for them in the course of the holy pilgrimage.The welfare of every pilgrim remains our utmost concern at all times.”
