Executive Director Katsina State Pilgrim Welfare Board, Yunusa Dankama has said of the 4,500 Hajj seats allocated to the state, only 2,660 intending pilgrims paid for the fares.
Dankama spoke at the 2024 Hajj enlightenment for intending pilgrims held at the board headquarters on Wednesday, saying 1,840 seats were still unsold few days to commencement of the airlift to Saudi Arabia, a experience first time experience in the state.
He said, already, the board has secured 50 percent of the visas for the registered intending pilgrims.
Dankama further said government is sponsoring 68 guards to assist in the successful conduct of the Hajj operation.
“We have already secured accommodation and mobility at Mecca and Medina for our pilgrims for a hitch free Hajj exercise,” he said.
Dankama commended state government for providing financial support to the board for the conduct of this year’s operation.
Earlier, the state deputy governor, Faruk Jobe, represented by the permanent secretary state religious affairs, Dr. Surajo Abukur, charged intending pilgrims to be good ambassadors in the holy land.
Jobe also charged them to seek Islamic knowledge on the rules and guidelines of the exercise, adding that seeking Islamic knowledge was necessary for Allah to accept their Hajj.
