The Muslim clergy has been urged by the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency to help inform all aspiring pilgrims of the need of paying their Hajj deposits as soon as possible in order to meet the deadline of December 31, 2023.
The plea was made by the agency’s executive secretary, Dr. Yusuf Arrigasiyyu, during a sensitization session that was planned for Imams and Ulamas from the 23 Local Government Areas and took place in Kaduna from Monday to Tuesday.
This is stated in a statement made on Wednesday in Kaduna by Malam Yunusa Abdullahi, the agency’s public relations officer.
According to Arrigasiyyu, who was cited by Abdullahi, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has set December as the cutoff period for enrolling prospective pilgrims for the 2024 Hajj.
In order for the commission plan for the Hajj of the following year to be enabled, he states that all intended pilgrims’ Hajj fares must be sent to NAHCON by December 31 at the latest.
He said, “because they are critical stakeholders in Hajj affairs,” that the imams of all the state’s Juma’at Mosques should be included in the sanitization process.
The Imams were closer to the intended pilgrims, as Arrigasiyyu also noted, so it was necessary to explain the consequences of missing the registration deadline.
In line with the new regulations, he claimed, visas would be issued starting two months ahead of the Hajj activities. He also mentioned that the Saudi Hajj schedule has been modified.
“All intending pilgrims must register before the end of the December deadline due to this change,” stated Arrigasiyyu.
Additionally, the agency would continue to work with the clerics to inform all aspiring pilgrims about the new policies announced by the NAHCON and Saudi Arabian authorities in order to transform the Hajj activity, according to acting Head of Operations Abubakar Yusuf.
