President Goodluck Jonathan on
Saturday at the Dutse International Airport, Jigawa State flagged off
the 2014 hajj to Saudi Arabia.
Jonathan, who was represented by
Vice President Namadi Sambo, urged Nigerian pilgrims to pray for the
country to surmount the challenges facing the nation.
“I believe all pilgrims are aware of the challenges facing our
country. These challenges require not only dedication of the leadership
but also prayers from every pilgrim. We should therefore be persistent
in our prayers for peace, progress and prosperity of our beloved
country,” he said.
He reminded the pilgrims of their spiritual
obligations, saying as they perform the Hajj pilgrimage they must
dedicate themselves to the spiritual revival of their souls so that they
could achieve “good life on earth and aspire for eternal bliss in the
hereafter.
He prayed for their safe airlift and and successful
hajj, even as he urged them to conduct themselves with decorum while on
pilgrimage.
Commending the improvement in airlifting of pilgrims to the
Holy Land where Nigeria had been able to meet her deadline, he said, “I
am glad to note that the days when Nigeria requested for extension of
time from Saudi Arabia because of our inability to to meet the airlift
deadline for the closure of the King Abdulazeez International Airport
are gone for good.”
He further commended the Nigeria Hajj
Commission for their improved performance in been able to surmount the
numerous challenges they were confronted with.
“We note the
improvement in performance of Hajj operations in Nigeria. I urge the
leadership of the Hajj Commission to see this improvement as a
motivation to propel it to greater height so that Hajj operations in
Nigeria will tow the line of international best Practice,” he said
He
added that their administration has always supported the welfare of all
Muslims through the Hajj commission by assisting the pilgrims with
consular, medical and exchange support services.
While government will continue to meet these primary and essential
needs, it is important that the commission works towards being more
self-sustaining and self-financing,” he said
The President assured
Nigerians that federal government was doing everything possible to
contain the spread of the Ebola virus and has promised to continue
supporting all the states in the federation.
He stated that the
federal government has, in addition to the N200 million support fund to
Lagos state, earmarked the sum of N1.9billion as support for states to
contain the spread of the deadly virus, adding that this support has
also been extended to some neigbouring countries to contain the spread
of the disease.
In his remarks the Sultan of Sokoto and Permanent
National Amirul Hajj, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar warned the pilgrims to
adhere strictly to the rules and regulations governing the performance
of hajj and to present themselves to all necessary medical tests to be
carried out on them.
The Sultan who also called for special prayers by the pilgrims to
defeat all the evils in the country, urged all Nigerians to join hands
together in bringing to an end the security challenges facing the
country.
He thanked President Jonathan for the efforts of the
federal government in containing the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus
in the country which he said has made this year’s hajj possible.
The
Oba of Lagos and this year’s National Amirul Hajj, Oba Rilwan Babatunde
Osuolale urged the pilgrims to conduct themselves with decorum and to
be honest, rather than engage themselves in any act capable of
tarnishing the image of their country.
While calling on the
pilgrims to clear their hands off commercial interests and be steadfast
in their hajj obligations, he appealed to the Federal Government to
increase its funding to the Hajj Commission particularly in the area of
security.
In his own remarks, the chairman of the National Hajj
Commission, Muhammad Musa Bello stated that the first set of 530
pilgrims from Jigawa state would be airlifted today at the Dutse
International airport to mark the commencement of the airlift of
pilgrims for this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
According to the
commission’s chairman, there were twelve designated departure centers in
the country including four new centers in Enugu, Bauchi, Kebbi and
Dutse where the first set of pilgrims would be airlifted.
He
expressed his gratitude to the federal government for the support it was
extending to the commission, which, he said, has made it possible for
the commission to move to the next higher level each year.
Also in
his remarks, the host Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa state thanked the
National Hajj Commission for the choice of his state as the centre to
flag-off this year’s hajj operation. He described his role as supportive
while calling for prayers for the nation from the pilgrims.
Also
present at the occasion were Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu,
Minister of Transport Senator Idris Umar, Shehu of Borno and the Emirs
of Kano, Hadejia, Suleja, Daura, Kazaure, Gumel, Kaltungo and Maradun.
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Monday, September 8, 2014
Jonathan Flags Off 2014 Hajj At Dutse International Airport
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