FG Warns Hajj Commission On Timely Airlift Of Pilgrims

Vice President,  Namadi Sambo,  said this on Friday, in the State House, Abuja, during a meeting to review the 2012 Hajj Report, recently presented to President Goodluck Jonathan, by the National Amirul Hajj, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III. The Vice President decried the situation where pilgrims are kept in hajj reception centres for days without being airlifted to the Holy land, saying that the delay makes Pilgrims expend a lot for their upkeep, which they had not budgeted for, stressing the need for the Commission to ensure that designated airlines abide by agreements signed. On the issue of Muharram (male guide) for female pilgrims under 45 years of age, the Vice President directed NAHCON and other stakeholders in the Hajj operations to ensure strict monitoring to avoid last year’s incidence, where female pilgrims were deported, emphasising that violators of the directive be sanctioned accordingly. This charge is coming barely a month to the commencement of the airlift of Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2013 Hajj, Sambo Sets Up Recommendation Committee - Channels