About 560 first batch of intending pilgrims from Niger State has departed Hajj camp at Tudun Fulani, enroute Abuja to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia.
Speaking with newsmen at the camp, the Executive Secretary, Niger State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Umar Makun Lapai, said after all efforts made by the state government to get approval for the airlift of pilgrims from Minna proved abortive, it has to device the means of taking them to Abuja.
He said all necessary steps have been taken to ensure the security of the pilgrims.
When asked about the possibility of transporting all the intending pilgrims to Saudi before the deadline, he said that rest squarely on the shoulders of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCO.
He however expressed optimism that all the 2,256 pilgrims from Niger State for this year’s hajj will be airlifted before the closure of airspace in Saudi Arabia.
The movement of the first batch to Abuja was witnessed by the state Amirul Hajj and the Sarkin Sudan of Kontangora, Alhaji Muhammad Barau Mu’azu.
