First Batch of 423 Lagos Pilgrims Depart for Saudi Arabia

The Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi, on Friday, bid farewell to the first batch of the 2024 intending pilgrims from Lagos State to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Arabi was accompanied to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, by the National Commissioner, Operations, Inspectorate and Licenses, Anofiu Olanrewaju-Elegushi, and other officials.

Mr. Arabi addressed the pilgrims before they were airlifted.

“For you to be called to perform Hajj, you must be extra ordinarily lucky, but it is a rare opportunity. Allah has given you the opportunity. It may be your last opportunity, to some it may be the beginning. So what do you do when you have the last opportunity? it is to utilise it so well,” he said.

He appealed to the pilgrims to make Nigeria proud by abiding by Saudi laws.

“Do the dos and don’t do the don’ts. If you stay on that path, you have no cause to worry,” he said.

Mr. Arabi also appealed to them not to fight or quarrel with the officials, saying when there are issues, such must be settled amicably without rancour “because we are all human.”

He admonished them to be good ambassadors and shinning examples for others to emulate.

While wishing them journey mercies, Mr. Arabi encouraged them to pray for the country and its leaders, especially President Bola Tinubu whose intervention made the 2024 Hajj exercise possible for Nigerians.

On his part, the Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Olanrewaju Layode, expressed his appreciation on behalf of the intending pilgrims for the chairman’s show of love and his admonitions.

The first batch of 423 pilgrims that departed Lagos to Madinah on Friday aboard Flynas flight XY8048 has safely arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Madinah.

According to NAHCON on Friday, a total of 4,229 intending pilgrims have been airlifted to Saudi Arabia in 10 flights across the country.

May 18, 2024