The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has refuted online reports “purporting that pilgrims from Adamawa state have been abandoned in Saudi Arabia after performing this year’s Hajj.”
A popular online medium had on Sunday reported that “the disappointment that greeted the Adamawa state participants in the 2014 pilgrimage to Mecca appears not to be over as they are stranded in the Holy Land and say they still do not know the date and time of their return to the country.
“The pilgrims, over 1000 of them, are in panic mode and say they are stranded in the Holy City after the Hajj ended, with no official of the National Hajj Commission, NAHCO, telling them the next line of action.”
Ironically, the reports appeared one day after the Federal Government Delegation to this year’s hajj and officials of NAHCON including its Chairman, Alhaji Musa Bello visited Adamawa pilgrims in Makkah with the message of hope and assurance that the return journey which had commenced three days earlier (October 9 precisely) would be executed faithfully as announced by the Commission.
“The issue of any of our pilgrims being stranded or abandoned does not arise as their return journeys are planned in line with the outbound journey. For the avoidance of doubt, all the states pilgrims welfare boards were given the flights schedule for their pilgrims well ahead of the commencement of the return airlift by the commission to enable them prepare their pilgrims for the journey back to Nigeria,” Malam Uba Mana, NAHCON ‘s spokesperson assured.
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