The Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency Tuesday said it has so far screened 1,027 2023 pilgrims entitled for the refund of money sent by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the NAHCON to the States Pilgrims Boards.
This was contained in a press statement issued and made available to newsmen in Sokoto by the Head of Information and Communications, Malam Danmalam Bashi Balarabe.
Speaking while supervising the conduct, the chairman of the commission, Alhaji Aliyu Musa commended the efforts of the committee members urging them to be more robust and courageous in the discharge of the assignment.
He said that Sokoto state governor, Dr. Ahmed Aliyu, was put the agency at the forefront by instant approval of all matters brought to him in the its name, hence the need to reciprocate the gestures.
The chairman who was in company of the committee chairman, the director of Hajj operations Abubakar Cika and director of administration, the acting secretary of the agency said that his agency would do everything possible to uphold its dignity and confidence repose on them by the governor.
He said that very soon the date for the disbursement would be communicated reassured that everyone would his refunded money without delay.
Recall that the seven men committee was set on Thursday last week saddled with responsibility to ensure each of the entitled pilgrims of the 2023 has been given his money with out further delay
Also speaking , the Dector of Administration and also acting secretary of the agency Alhaji Ladan Ibrahim called on the beneficiaries to keep on their good habit of maintaining law and order while at the screening venue which according to him was among the reasons why Sokoto State won an international award in Saudi Arabia during the last year’s Hajj exercise.
According to the statement, the Data collected revealed that at the agency’s headquarters 243 beneficiaries have so far been screened, while the remaining 784 were screened from the 23 local government areas of the state.
Also speaking, the chairman of Sokoto Hajj Registration Officers Forum(ROs) also secretary for Sokoto North Local Government Area Umaru Garba Goronyo said the exercise was steadily progressing adding that a combination of both present and former AROs has yielded a better result.
In his comment the Chairman of the Association of Assistant Hajj Registration Officers Forum (AROs), Musa Abdullahi of Bodinga Local Government Area explained another factor that contributed to the smooth running of the exercise was the provision made for the deceased and those that were currently far from the state.