Borno Govt. Spends N500 Million On Hajj Sponsorship
The Borno government said Saturday that it spent about N500m toward the
successful conduct of this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Mustapha, made this known in an
interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Makkah.
Mustapha, who was the leader of the state’s Hajj Committee said that the
money was used to secure good accommodation for the state pilgrims, as
well as ensure good welfare for them.
He said that the state government provided a subsidy of 300 Saudi Riyals
to each of the 2,645 pilgrims to enable them to perform the hadaya
(slaugthering of animals during the Hajj).
The deputy governor added that the state government had remained steadfast
in ensuring hitch-free Hajj in the past four years in spite of prevailing
security challenges.
He thanked Gov. Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano
State for their assistance to the state during the transportation of Borno
pilgrims to the Holy Land.
He said, “We are appealing to the Federal Government to reopen the
Maiduguri International Airport.
“We want the Federal Government to assist us by reopening the airport so
as to avert the difficult situation the state found itself, especially the
risky movement of pilgrims from Maiduguri to Jigawa and Kano for the
airlift to the Holy Land.”