Hajj: 1,000 Deposit Fares In Plateau

The Plateau Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board on Monday in Jos said it collected Hajj deposit for this year’s pilgrimage from 1,000 intending pilgrims.

The Executive Secretary of the board, Alhaji Saluisu Musa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that 1,590 seats were allocated to the state by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCO) this year.

Musa also said that the board collected N300,000 from each of the 1,000 intending pilgrims.

He said the deposit was collected from the intending pilgrims pending the final decision on Hajj fares by NAHCO.

Musa also said the board had set aside 590 Hajj seats for pilgrims that would be sponsored by state and local governments.

“The board is waiting for the state government to announce the number of Muslims it will sponsor for the 2011 Hajj exercise,“ he added.

The board, he said, would carry out an intensive screening exercise that would weed out pregnant women and people with dubious character from the pilgrimage.

He, however, said that the screening exercise would be conducted for those who paid the complete Hajj fares and not deposits.

Musa called on husbands of pregnant women to advise them to withdraw their deposits, stressing that the scrutiny would now be intensive.

“The era of pregnant women using their sisters as proxies during the screening exercise is over.

“Any woman who uses any trick to beat the screening will not be allowed to perform the pilgrimage,“ he said.

Musa appealed to Muslims to pray for the return of permanent peace so that the state could continue to prosper.