The chairman of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, has said the commission was working towards ensuring that intending pilgrims for Hajj would have fully understood the rudiments of the act as one of the pillars of Islam before travelling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Barr. Muhammad, who said this while fielding questions from journalists, voiced concern over last-minute payment of fares by the pilgrims with little or no regard for the thorough understanding of the pilgrimage.
He regretted that some officials of the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards also thought that Hajj was a “free-for-all business.”
“What we are looking forward to is a situation whereby if you want to perform Hajj, say in five or four years to come, you plan, pay your fare and attend classes to ensure you properly understand what Hajj is all about,” he said.
The NAHCON chairman said the State’s officials who would train others on Hajj activities would be trained before the commencement of the next Hajj.
Speaking on the same issue in Saudi Arabia, Sen. Ali Ndume underscored the need to give Hajj subsidy for Muslims wishing to perform pilgrimage but did not have enough money to achieve their aim.
“The N1.5 million or N1.4 million being paid as Hajj fare is too much. I want a situation whereby if a Muslim has N800,000 and wants to perform Hajj, government can subsides the balance to enable him or her perform Hajj,” he said.
Meanwhile, the pilgrims have continued to walk to Jamarat Aqba in Mina to observe the symbolic stoning of devil expected to end tomorrow.
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