The Osun Ministry of Home Affairs has recorded an
over-subscription of the slots allocated to it by the National Commission on
Hajj for the 2017 pilgrimage.
While the state was initial awarded 917 slots for
pilgrims, the state demanded for an extra 48 slots which were also filled up by
intending pilgrims from the state.
This was disclosed on Saturday by the Commissioner for
Home Affairs, Dr. Obawale Adebisi, while speaking at a program where Governor
Rauf Aregbesola bid farewell to the pilgrims performing this year’s hajj.
The Governor said the development is a sign that the
economy of Osun is not as precarious as being made to look to outsiders.
A statement from the Office of the Special Adviser,
Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the
Commissioner for Home Affairs, as disclosing before the Governor that while all
the 917 slots originally allocated to Osun was fully booked by pilgrims to
Mecca, an additional request for 48 slots from the National Commission on Hajj
was also fully subscribed while there are requests from several others which the
state is still considering.
Pilgrims to Mecca paid a sum of N1,180,000 last year
while pilgrims are paying a sum of
N1,548,153.43 for the 2017 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
A total of 724 pilgrims performed hajj last year from
Osun while the year 2017 has recorded 1,065 pilgrims with the possibilities of
other additions.
While bidding the pilgrims farewell, Governor Aregbesola,
in the statement, was quoted as saying that it is instructive that the state
indeed demanded for more spaces after exhausting the initial 917 slots given to
it, adding that this is an indication that the state’s economy is not as
precarious as some critics would want to paint it.
“I have been made to understand that some states even
could not fill about one third of the slots given to them because their people
have no capacity. But in Osun, where some of our traducers would want the world
to think is in such a precarious and irredeemable economic situation, our
people are able to sponsor themselves for this journey at a time the government
has no capacity to sponsor a single pilgrim.
“This is to confirm that our interventions in the various
spheres of people’s lives have been impactful and this economic independence is
a major indices.
“So, if you want to measure the results of our
performance, this is one clear indication,” the Governor was quoted as saying.
Governor Aregbesola also specifically urged pilgrims to
be good ambassadors of the state while giving them prayer points while
performing hajj rites.
He urged them to pray for peace of mind, better economic
prosperity in Osun, peace in Yoruba land, Nigeria, quick recovery of President
Muhammad Buhari, and above all, a place of comfort for his mother, Alhaja
Saratu Asabi Aregbesola, who died last Tuesday.
Speaking earlier, the Ameer Hajj, Barrister Dhikrilah
Hassan said Osun has also perfected its strategies towards making hajj
comfortable, a situation he said has earned Osun commendations from the Saudi
Arabian and Nigerian authorities.
He assured the governor that just as his team had done in
the past, the 2017 exercise would also witness good conduct my pilgrims and
that the state would maintain its place as good ambassador of Nigeria.
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