Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has explained that Governor Uba Sani’s mandate for the agency to ensure a hitch-free Hajj and take maximum care of pilgrims before and during their stay in Saudi Arabia, is the reason for their successful airlift to the Holy Land.
The Director of Operations and Head of Information, Communication and Technology of the Agency, Alhaji Abubakar Usman Yusuf, disclosed this in a statement he issued in Makkah, Saudi Arabia and made available to Blueprint in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He however gave thanks to Allah (SWT) for the overall success of the operation so far.
‘’The Governor gave the Agency a mandate to ensure that pilgrims’ welfare is the utmost priority. He also promised that his administration will conduct Hajj differently from what it used to be in the past,” he said.
The Operations Director further said the agency’s officials also reviewed past operations and identified problematic areas, as well as leveraged their collective experience to avert such hitches.
He added that the agency engaged all relevant stakeholders in both Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to find solutions to potential problems and took steps to avoid them.
Abubakar noted that the agency has also taken steps to achieve success during the pilgrims’ stay at Mashair, that is the tent city of Muna, the plain of Arafat and Muzdaleefa.
‘’We have engaged competent staff that will ensure a hitch-free exercise. The pilgrims have also been sensitized about the necessary acts of worship during that period. So, right from the airlift to the next phase of the Hajj, pilgrims have been sufficiently educated on what to do. That is why we have so far had a smooth exercise. We envisage that the next phase of the pilgrimage will equally be smooth,’’ he said.
Speaking on accommodation and other services, Abubakar said Kaduna state pilgrims welfare agency adopted an open competitive bidding which ensured that it engaged the best service providers and at the least cost.
He said each service provider was benchmarked based on his cost, past record and capacity to deliver, adding that ‘’we inspected the hotels where our pilgrims are now being accommodated, during our pre-Hajj visit’’.
