Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
The Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has agreed to pay 50 per cent of the additional increment of the 2024 Hajj exercise fare for the intending pilgrims from Bauchi State.
To this end, Bauchi State Government would pay a subsidy of N959,000 for 1,652 intending pilgrims from Bauchi State totaling over N2.5 billion to bring sucour to the Hajj exercise.
The Bauchi State’s Commissioner of Religion Affairs and Community Orientation, Mr. Yakubu Ibrahim Hamza, stated this during the weekend at the Government House, when he briefed newsmen on the development. Hamza explained that benefiting intending pilgrims comprised those who have already paid the increment and those who are yet to commit to the development as well as those who were being awarded Hajj slots by the state government.
In a remark, the Executive Secretary of the State Pilgrims welfare Board, Mr. Abdulrahman Ibrahim Idris, explained that intending pilgrims who have registered and paid the initial total deposit of N4.7 million and N4.5 million with the State Pilgrims Board will now deposit N959,000 out of the N1.9 million increase.
Recalled that the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) has increased the fare for Year 2024 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia by N1,918,032.91
The commission also set March 28, 2024 as deadline for intending pilgrims to make their payments. It attributed the increase in fare to the foreign exchange crisis rocking the country.
NAHCON had initially pegged the fare for this year’s pilgrimage at N4.9 million, but the commission is now asking those who have paid the initial amount to add a balance of N1.9 million raising the amount to N6.8 million.
