Kano airlifts 6,179 Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia — Official

The Director General of Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Laminu Rabi’u Danbaffa, disclosed on Tuesday that all the 6,179 registered intending pilgrims allocated to the state have been airlifted to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.

Danbaffa made the disclosure during an interview with newsmen at Arafat in Muna.

According to Danbaffa, among all the 6,179 registered intending pilgrims, no one was left out, adding that they had all been to Madina and completed their visitations before proceeding to Makkah for the commencement of the Hajj exercise.

He noted that all the Kano contingents had been moved to Mina from Makkah on Monday, adding that they are now currently observing Arafat rites at Arafat.

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Also, he noted that the feat was recorded despite the fact that they took over the operation midway from the immediate past Executive Secretary.

“Glory be to Almighty God, all our 6,179, intending pilgrims have been airlifted. No one missed Hajj and they all arrived in Madina before proceeding to Makkah. They were all moved to Mina and are now currently observing Hajj rites in Arafat.

“All Kano pilgrims are in good health and we have not recorded any deaths. All our pilgrims, when they fall sick, promptly get medical attention.

“We haven’t recorded any incidents of duping against our pilgrims. They are orderly and obedient,” he said.

Danbaffa commended the state’s pilgrim centre officers, who, according to him, are up and doing in serving the pilgrims.

”Despite the fact that we took over the operation midway, we have recorded success, but the success we have recorded has overwhelmed the challenges,” he said.

In his remarks, the chairman of the board, Alhaji Yusuf Lawal, said when they took over the operation, midway, they ensured that all the intending pilgrims were airlifted.

“Hajj operations are not new to us. We have the know-how to do it, and that is why, even as we encountered so many discrepancies during the operation, we were not deterred from that. We continued to work until we achieved this success.

“We noticed the challenges. We will correct it in the next operation and where we need government intervention, we will inform them to provide support to us.

“The support we have received from His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kano State, is what helped us record this success,” he said.

In his remark, the chairman of the 2023 Hajj media team, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, commended the board officials, who, despite inheriting challenges, were able to forge ahead and complete the operation successfully.

“The pilgrims from Kano were taken good care of. We tried to make them feel at home and we achieved that. Any problem that arises, the DG is up and doing to solve it. He sometimes assigned me and the Chairman to tackle any issue that came up. We are happy and to sum it up, this year’s operation is a success,” he emphasised.