Executive Secretary Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdulkadir, Sunday, said 2,150 intending pilgrims from the state are set for the 2025 hajj exercise.
Abdulkadir said this at the enlightenment and special prayer programme held for all intending pilgrims from the state in Ilorin.
He said less than 30 people were yet to complete their payment for the exercise and therefore gave them two days grace to pay after which they would close the portal for the year.
“We are waiting for them to complete their payments before the date, after which we will refund their money,” Abdulkadir said.
He said hajj is not a tourism affair but a spiritual exercise that requires good intention.
The executive secretary charged the intending pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state and the country at large.
In his remarks, the 2025 Amirul-Hajj and the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Yahaya, advised the intending pilgrims to be patient while in Saudi Arabia.
He also urged them to dissociate themselves from the social media to make the exercise acceptable to Allah.
Yahaya commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for making necessary facilities available to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
Also speaking, the chairman of the board, Prof. Mashood Mahmud-Jimba, appreciated the state government for putting in place the necessary machinery to ensure a hitch-free exercise.
In his lecture, the Grand Khadi, Kwara state Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Abdullateef Kamaldeen, represented by Imam Kamaldeen Shefiulahi, charged the intending pilgrims to have the fear of Allah before, during and after the exercise. (NAN)