The Plateau Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board has appealed to state governor, Simon Lalong, to help in securing approval from the Federal Government for pilgrims from the state to be transported from Yakubu Gowon Airport, Heipang, near Jos.
Executive Secretary of the board, Malam Auwal Abdullahi, made the appeal on Wednesday in a statement by the board’s Information Officer, Namu Sanusi.
“We appeal to the governor to use his office as the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum to secure transportation of Plateau Muslim pilgrims from Yakubu Gowon Airport in subsequent Hajj operations.
“We strongly believe that such an approval will greatly relieve Plateau pilgrims of the stress of going through other states while travelling to Saudi Arabia,” Abdullahi said.
He thanked Lalong for sponsoring the largest number of pilgrims in the history of the board.
The executive secretary stated that the commendable gesture from the governor was a proof of practical service to humanity and the promotion of spiritual lives of citizens.
According to him, the board conveyed a total of 1,198 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to fulfill their religious obligation in 2019.
He said that performance of Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam expected to be carried out by mature, able and sane Muslims.
“The board is happy that the 2019 Hajj operations were successful considering the fact that the entire pilgrims returned intact with no record of casualties and no pilgrim absconded.
”This has further boosted the image of Plateau in the Holy Land and further cemented the confidence of the Saudi Arabian authorities,” he said.
The executive secretary commended the pilgrims for abiding by the tenets of Islam and for showing respect to the Saudi rules and regulations.
He also commended the 2019 Amirul Hajj of the state, Justice Muhammad Surajo, and other members who served on various committees for their efforts toward the success of the Hajj.
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