Borno spends N500m on pilgrims’ welfare
The Borno State Government has spent
about N500m on accommodation and welfare of its citizens that
participated in this year’s hajj, the Deputy Governor of the state,
Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, disclosed on Tuesday.
The deputy governor, who is the leader
of the state delegation to the holy pilgrimage (Amirul Hajj), said the
state government had to spend this much in other to make available
suitable accommodation for the pilgrims and to enhance their welfare.
Mustapha, who spoke to journalists from
Saudi Arabia, said the state government was glad that the spending was
worthwhile as pilgrims had memorable time during the hajj exercise.
He noted that the N500m was expended in
providing befitting accommodation to enable the state pilgrims to
perform their hajj rites successfully in Saudi Arabia. He added that the
government also provided the Basic Travel Allowance to all pilgrims
from the state.
He revealed that the state government
gave out 300 Saudi Riyals to each of the 2,645 pilgrims as subsidy for
slaughtering of sacrificial rams.
He said plans had been put in place to
make the return to the country equally exciting, even as he appealed to
the Federal Government to reopen the Maiduguri International Airport.
He said, “This is to avert the difficult
situation the state found itself, especially the risky movement of
pilgrims from Maiduguri to Jigawa and Kano for this year’s airlift to
holy land.”
Mustapha said despite the prevailing
security challenges in the state, the Shettima-led government remained
steadfast in ensuring a hitch-free hajj in the last four years.
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