By Mikail Mumuni in Makkah
*Photo L-R: Malam Abdulkadir Oloyin, Dr Aliyu Tanko and Ustaz Abubakar Lamin during an interactive session between members of the National Media Team and Dr Tanko*
The Makkah Operations Coordinator of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Dr Aliyu Tanko has assured that all Nigerians pilgrims for the this year’s Hajj will arrive Saudi Arabia before the closure of the points of entry for pilgrims.
Dr Tanko gave the assurance on Thursday, at the NAHCON Office in Makkah, during an interactive session with members of the National Media Team (NMT) who arrived from Madina on Wednesday.
According to him, ” The issues
of requesting for extention of time or re-opening the airports for us are over.”
Some previous Hajj exercises recorded late arrival of Nigerian pilgrims due to aviation challenges.
But Hajia Fatima Sanda Usara, NAHCON Assistant Director, Public Affairs on Tuesday in a press statement reported “Thus far, no flight cancellation has been recorded except for a flight delay that resulted in a time shift that affected the Kwara inaugural flight; moving it from yesterday 20th May, 2024 to early hours of today Tuesday 21st May.”
Dr Tanko said ” In Sha Allah, the plan is that all our pilgrims will get to Makkah and rest for at least one week before the Hajj proper will start. This is what we are hoping and working towards. “
Dr Tanko also said NAHCON currently operates two functional clinics in Makkah, located in two hotels occupied by pilgrims, while there are also mobile clinics spread across areas inhabited by Nigerian pilgrims.
Welcoming the journalists to the NAHCON Office in Makkah, Dr Tanko urged them to always abide by the ethics of their profession.
The visiting members of the NMT, led by Malam Ahmad Muhammed Musa, NAHCON Head of Media Operations in Makkah, thanked Dr Tanko and two principal officials of the Commission in attendance- Malam Abdulkadir Oloyin, Head of Makkah Accommodation and Ustaz Abubakar Lamin, Saudi Liaison Officer of NAHCON.
A report by NAHCON’s Command and Control Center Abuja indicated that ” Today 23/05/2024, Flynas flight XY8060 departed Lagos to Madinah @ 04:56hrs with 428 Lagos Pilgrims and 3 Officials,” bringing the total flights so far to 34 and total pilgrims, 14,383.
Dr Tanko said there are already 8,000 Nigerian pilgrims in Makkah while the rest are in Madina.
A total of 65,000 Nigerian pilgrims are expected to perform this year’s Hajj.
