NAHCON approves 131 operators for 2017 hajj

Lagos okays Muslims for Christian pilgrimage
No fewer than 131 licensed operators have been approved by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to participate in the forthcoming 2017 hajj operation.

This, according to the Head of Media, NAHCON, Uba Mana, followed the pre-qualifications exercise carried out by the commission for the 176 companies, which applied for the 2017 hajj licence.

Mana said about 45 companies that were disqualified for various reasons are expected to appeal their disqualification to the commission before February 28.

He noted that some of the operators were using agents to source for clients, with the agents sometimes engaging in unholy acts.

Mana, who stated that routine inspection would be sustained at regular intervals to ensure compliance and reduce the spread of unlicensed ones, said: “The commission will also ensure enforcement with considerable fines on the licensed companies found wanting.”

In another development, Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Alhaji Abdulakeem Abdulateef, has said that Muslims could now be part of pilgrims to Jerusalem.

Abdulateef, who stated that Muslims would be accommodated for pilgrimage to Jerusalem to visit the third holiest mosque in the world, said the state government decided to allow this because it is blind to religion.

He said the decision was in line with government’s policy to enhance the welfare of the people and not endanger it.

He, therefore, appealed to Lagosians to make good use of the gesture, adding that any church leader, who mobilises 50 people for a trip, would get an additional slot to serve as the co-ordinator of the group.