The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it has received
a better reception by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj after President
Muhammadu Buhari’s state visit to the Kingdom. The NAHCON Executive
Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar, disclosed this on Friday in an
interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. Mukhtar said
that Nigerian pilgrims would enjoy a better deal this year due to the
combined benefits of Buhari visit as well as efforts of the commission
and other stakeholders.
It will be recalled that after completion of talks with the Saudi
Arabian Government, Buhari directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
NAHCON to negotiate with the Saudi Authority to resolve all outstanding
issues relating to the 2015 Hajj. Mukhtar, who said that the
presidential order had been carried out thoroughly, described the
Buhari’s state visits “as fruitful and a blessing to the commission”.
NAHCON and Nigerians received a better reception by the Saudi
Ministry of Hajj after Buhari’s visit and all the issues that the
president directed for resolution had been addressed. “The issue of the
35 missing pilgrims, whose DNA had been submitted to Saudi Government,
three had been confirmed dead of which two are from Kano state and one
from the FCT. “Their state Pilgrim Boards have been notified and the
death certificates had also been released to them for onward conveyance
to the family members of the deceased.
These are all good things that come out of the Presidential directive
by the President which coincided with his own state visit. “The Saudi
government have also given assurance of easing the difficulties faced by
pilgrims during their stay in Mina by bringing them closer to the
Jamrat,’’ Mukhtar said. He said that due to prediction that Hajj seasons
would fall in hot weathers for some years, the Saudi Arabia government
would improve the cooling system in the tents and extend it to the camps
too.
“We have been appealing that there should be rotation of the
accommodation so that we can be given accommodation closer to the
Jamrat, the area which the symbolic stoning of the devil is being
carried out. “For the first time the Saudi Ministry of Hajj has accepted
to look into that request and I believed that is also a takeaway from
the Presidential state visit,” he added.
Similarly, the chairman said Saudi had promised to replace over 4,000
old buses in their fleet for 2016 operation with buses of 2008
generation upward. He also said that the issue of compensation for the
victims of crane collapse was in progress, assuring that “once we
received the money we will notify the families of the victims
accordingly’’.