Claim – Plateau state has the lowest hajj fare in the Northern states.
On Friday, May 24th 2019, the Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Muslim Welfare Board, Awwal Abdullahi said its 2019 official hajj fare is the lowest in the Northern states except Adamawa which is slightly LOWER than that of Plateau state
Explanation of Hajj fare
Hajj is a yearly holy pilgrimage embarked upon by Muslims across the World. The pilgrimage usually takes up to 30 days.
Hajj fare is the money paid by intending pilgrims to the Holy Land of Saudi Arabia, the fare covers their transportation, feeding, accommodation, visa, uniforms and bags.
The fee is usually agreed upon by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), each year NAHCON peg a amount to be paid by states which they must not reduce. Moat states usually subsidize the hajj fare making their citizens pay less while they complete it for them.
The official hajj fare placed for states in 2019 is N1,500,000 inclusive of $800 BTA.
Verification of Claim
On claim that Plateau state hajj fare of N1,519,513 has the lowest in the Northern states except Adamawa whose fare is N1,510,000, which was claimed to be slightly below that of Plateau state.
The Nation Fact check searched and compared the hajj fare of 15 northern states including the FCT and discovered that Plateau state was among the lowest apart from Adamawa but definitely not the lowest.
The Hajj fare for four northern states, Benue, Zamfara, Borno and Gombe were not seen.
The Hajj fares of the 16 northern states from the lowest fare to the highest fare include:
Adamawa – N1,510,000
Niger – N1,513,650
Kastina – N1,519,113
Plateau – N1,519,513
Yobe – N1,522,475
Taraba – N1,523,598
Kogi – N1,531,059
Bauchi – N1,532,974
Kebbi – N1,533,305
Kano – N1,537,754
Kwara – N1,528,559
Nasarawa – N1,539,605
Sokoto – N1,540,428
Kaduna – N1,549,297
FCT – N1,548,625
From the above compilations, Adamawa state has the lowest hajj fare in the North with Niger and Kastina coming second and third. Plateau state comes fourth with the lowest hajj fare.
Conclusion
With the verification made where the hajj fare for 15 out of 19 states were gotten, Plateau state is among the least hajj fare but do not have the lowest hajj fare in the North with exception to Adamawa.
The claim is therefore False as Niger and Kastina’s fare is lower that Plateau’s fare.
This fact-check was done by a Dubawa Fact-checking Fellow in collaboration with The Nation Newspaper.
THE NATION ONLINE
