By Khalid Idris Doya
The Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board in Bauchi has expressed its gratitude to the Almighty God for the successful completion of the 2024 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, having all its 2682 peacefully returned home after the holy exercise.
"To be honest and sincere, for over 10 - 15 years, we have never had such a peaceful, credible, rancor-free, and successful Hajj exercise like the one we performed this year, 2024", the Executive Secretary of the board, Imam Abdurrahman Ibrahim Idris said.
The Executive Secretary told the press in Bauchi yesterday that the board has witnessed its sixth and last flight back home, thus bringing to an end this year's pilgrimage exercise by Bauchi state.
"We use six aircrafts for the airlift exercise, and both the travel to the Holy Land in Saudi Arabia and back, each took nine days by the chartered aircrafts', Imam Idris said.
He further explained that Bauchi state pilgrims while in the Holy Land were adequately accommodated in Mecca, Madina, and Mina, and the whole exercise took them 38 days as against the 43 days previously spent.
Imam Abdurrahman described this year's exercise as the best so far, attributable to early preparations, and an easy procedure of obtaining visas for the intending pilgrims of the state.
He revealed that the Saudi Arabian authorities have just released the time-table and schedules for the 2025 Hajj exercise, saying it will facilitate the smooth and easy conduct of the next exercise.
Imam also commended Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed for his moral and financial assistance, without which Bauchi would have conducted the exercise with only one aircraft.
The Board Secretary expressed dismay over the inadequate basic traveling allowance (BTA) of the pilgrims which is slightly over $400, a situation which he said, made Governor Bala Mohammed dashed $100 to each of the pilgrims.
These, the board scribe further revealed, were in addition to the Sallah gift of 300 Riyals to each of the Bauchi pilgrims, while his wife, Dr. A'isha Bala Mohammed dashed each of them with praying and bed sheets.
He disclosed that of the about one thousand deaths of pilgrims in the Holy Land globally, Bauchi has only one, Alh. Ismail from Toro LGA of the state died after completion of the Hajj obligatory duties.
Imam Abdurrahman Idris also recalled that the most pressing challenge his board faced in the exercise was the additional Hajj fares of about M2 million on each of the pilgrims, as well as the BTA monetary exchange.
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