The Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Agency said yesterday that about 4,158 intending pilgrims from the state were expected to perform this year’s Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
The Chairman of the agency, Alhaji Abdullahi Shema, said this in Birnin Kebbi at the orientation programme organised for intending pilgrims from the North-West zone.
He said that the agency had completed preparations for the exercise, adding that a befitting accommodation had been secured for the intending pilgrims from the state in Mecca and Medina.
Shema said that the intending pilgrims had been directed to obtain the current electronic travelling passport as required by law.
In his remarks, Governor Saidu Dakingari, urged the intending pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state while in the Holy land and also cautioned them to be careful in the way they spend their basic travel allowance (BTA) while in Saudi Arabia.
The governor also reminded the intending pilgrims of the law that prohibited pregnant women and very old people from participation in the Hajj and warned them against violation.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar, commended the zonal office of the commission for organising the orientation.
He said that the intending pilgrims needed to be enlightened about the basic rudiments of Hajj, adding that most pilgrims regarded Hajj as a business venture or tourism destination.
Umar warned the intending pilgrims against drug trafficking or sponsoring children for the exercise, saying that the commission we would continue to educate the intending pilgrims.
NAN reports that prominent Islamic clerics also addressed the intending pilgrims on proper religious conduct of Hajj. (NAN)
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