The Kwara State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board said it has secured visas for all the remaining 1,953 intending pilgrims travelling through the Board to Saudi Arabia for this year’s pilgrimage.
The executive secretary of the Board, Alh Abdulkadir AbdulSalam, disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, on Sunday.
Abdulkadir disclosed that 1,597 intending pilgrims from the state had been airlifted and are presently in Makkah performing the Hajj rites while 1,953 were waiting for their turn to be airlifted.
He added that, out of the remaining intending pilgrims, 24 joined Ekiti State’s contingents earlier on Sunday for onward journey to Saudi Arabia.
He disclosed that the National Hajj Commisssion of Nigeria (NAHCON) has made arrangements to deploy airlines that have completed the airlifting of their allotted intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, to other states that have flight delay or hitches for prompt transportation.
He, therefore, urged the remaining intending pilgrims from the state to be patient and calm as they would all be airlifted before the deadline given to Nigerian intending pilgrims by the Saudi Arabia Government.
He said the intending pilgrims from the state were doing well in the holy land and were all hale and hearty.
