Max Air yesterday left Dutse International Airport for the Holy land with 555 intending pilgrims for the 2018 Hajj Rites on board.
Public Relations Officer of the state Pilgrims Welfare Board (PWB), ALhaji Ibrahim Hashimu Sarkin KaNya made the disclosure in telephone interview with our correspondent.
He said 555 intending pilgrims out of 736 who paid for the exercise left yesterday adding that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria [NAHACON] allocated over 1400 seats to Jigawa state for the 2018 hajj operations but that only 50% of the number were able to pay due to economic realities.
Hashimu stated that passport traveling visas and basic travel allowances were secured by the board adding that data capturing has also been done to the intending pilgrims.
He pointed out that screening took place at the headquarters of the board inn Dutse.
The spokes person disclosed that the intending pilgrims met with the stakeholders such as Customs, Immigration, and NAFDAC officials, NAMA, FAN and NDLEA. He explained that it was all in the effort to strategize on how the state would conduct successful hajj operation this year.
He said due to the limited number of intending pilgrims, the state government has trimmed the number of center officer to only three zonal officers, one from each of the three senatorial zones to assist the intending pilgrims while at the Holly land.