NewStats: 3,265,437 , 8,186,739 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 11:19 PM g184h

Reports said each of the 3,345 pilgrims from the state received 50 Saudi Riyals as a during the Sallah festivities and ease their stay in the Holy Land.

This was disclosed on Monday by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s representative and head of the Kano Hajj Delegation Committee, the Emir of Karaye, Alhaji Muhammad Maharaz Karaye.

The emir delivered the governor’s goodwill message while lddressing the pilgrims at Makkah’s Shari Mansur Kano House No. 1, the emir delivered Governor Yusuf’s goodwill message.

The secretary to the committee and Director-General of the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Lamin Rabi’u Danbappa, said that the disbursement process was comprehensive.

He was also reported to have announced an additional provision for the pilgrims, which would see each of them receive a large travel bag in preparation for their return journey home.

The Kebbi State Government did not subsidise the hajj fare for the 3,800 pilgrims from the state.

But in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Governor Nasir Idris approved 200 Riyal for each of the pilgrims from the state.

The Lagos State Government also did not subsidise hajj fare this year as each of the 1,315 pilgrims from the state paid about N9 million.

But Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gifted each of the pilgrims 180 riyals (equivalent of N74,870) totaling N98,454,050 for all of them.

The Jigawa State Government, which equally did not subsidise hajj fare this year, reportedly gave 100 Riyals (approximately N43,000) to each of the 930 pilgrims from the state as “Happy Arafat gift.”

Each of the 3,200 pilgrims from Sokoto State received 1,000 Riyals (equivalent to N450,000) as a sallah gift from Governor Ahmed Aliyu.

The governor made the announcement on Saturday during his visit to the Sokoto contingent in Mina, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he congratulated them on the successful completion of the hajj exercise.

The governor explained that the gesture was aimed at ing the pilgrims financially as they prepared for their return journey to Nigeria.

Earlier, the State Amirul Hajj, Alhaji Ummarun Kwabo, had thanked the governor for his which, he said, significantly contributed to the success of this year’s hajj operations.

He noted that all the committee set up for the pilgrimage had been working diligently to ensure a smooth and successful exercise.

Borno pays for pilgrims’ rams

The deputy governor of Borno State, Umar Usman Kadafur, announced that the state government paid the cost of sacrificial ram (hadiyya) for each of the pilgrims from the state.

A total of 2,174 pilgrims were said to have performed this year’s hajj from the state.

When ed, Malam Dauda Iliya, the Special Adviser to Governor Babagana Zulum, said apart from the hadiya, he was not aware of any subsidy to the pilgrims by the state government.

Expenses misplaced priority—Analyst, clerics

A public affairs analyst, Professor Yahaya Tanko, in an interview, described state governments’ expenditures on hajj “a misplacement of priorities.”

He said the governors should rather focus on addressing security concerns and improving the welfare of citizens.

“This is a misplacement of priorities by government. They do not seem to value governance, especially issues of real concern to the people,” he said.

He said at a time when the insecurity continued to threaten the livelihoods of citizens, particularly farmers and displaced persons, state governments should be directing resources towards improving safety and economic conditions rather than sponsor religious pilgrimages.

“A government whose people cannot go to their farms, whose communities are displaced, and whose citizens struggle daily to raise ransom for kidnapped loved ones should focus on these pressing concerns. Diverting resources to pilgrimage sponsorship is ill-advised,” Tanko stated.

“Even if security is within the exclusive list of federal responsibilities, the people affected by insecurity are residents of these states. State governments must contribute to securing the environment in which their people live,” he said.

He said failure to prioritize security would render government investments in education, agriculture, health and social welfare meaningless.

“Without security, all other investments, be it in education, health, or agriculture, amount to nothing. A government that watches helplessly while its people suffer should not divert resources to pilgrimage sponsorship.

“Going to Hajj should be a personal or community effort. Committing huge public funds to sponsor individuals for religious activities, especially in the face of security and economic challenges, is highly questionable,” the don said.

He urged state governments to reallocate resources towards securing lives and improving the standard of living for their citizens.

Also commenting on the issue, the national chief imam of the Al-Habibiyah Islamic Society (AIS) Sheik Fuad Adeyemi, said though it is not illegal for the federal and state governments to sponsor pilgrims for hajj, the resources deployed should have been utilized for other priorities that would benefit more people with more positive impacts.

“The billions could have been used to sponsor the education of the children of the pilgrims. This would benefit the pilgrims, the children and by extension the community, for which they would be grateful for life.

“Some of the people sponsored for the pilgrimage, still do not understand some of the hajj rites and those who paid themselves seems to be better prepared and engaged in the hajj rites better.

“The issue even seems like ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’. How much would be claimed to have been spent and how much was actually spend?

“So, sponsoring pilgrims and also spending that much as gift for them should be reviewed by those concerned and use the resources for projects and other interventions that would benefit the greater majority,” Adeyemi said.

https://dailytrust.com/hajj-11-states-spend-n6-2bn-on-pilgrims/

. . .
Lol

Wasting money on useless trip,Osun osogbo festival dey they will not go.

Money that children in the North need to eat and go to school. They are spending it on tourism in Saudi to go and touch one stone. Africans make una they think. So strange.

Wat are economy important of paying 6+ billion on Pilgrim ❓

JUS because person wan go Add GOLD TEETH
Government should back down on such with PUBLIC FUNDS

This no the only way I will send every time I will send you another

Waste of funds. Muslim hajj and Christian pilgrimage should not be state sponsored.

Unfortunate country! Unfortunate leaders! When I become the president, anybody that demanded money for pilgrimage, I will ask him, how it intended to benefit the country, failure to give me a reasonable reason for asking will bring serious consequences!

You cannot spend this much on pilgramages

Courtesy of Niger-Delta Oilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

events of Wednesday on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have once again exposed the failure of leadership at both federal and state levels, with the Ogun State Government particularly culpable for its disgraceful handling of the situation, News360 Nigeria reports.

chukwutee:
Unfortunate country! Unfortunate leaders! When I become the president, anybody that demanded money for pilgrimage, I will ask him, how it intended to benefit the country, failure to give me a reasonable reason for asking will bring serious consequences!

You'll never be president of this kind of country because our people are blinded by religion and wouldn't vote someone like you. The North has high regard for religious pilgrimage and will definitely kick against a candidate like you.

Poor bl'ack people donating their money to rich Arabs. The poor will give to the rich

That's much ...why won't they develop... imagine every Muslim countries spending such amount.

MURIC will not say anything now as this only benefits the Muslims.

If it’s the other way round, the man will be drolling all over the internet space.

Great use of funds. Next year let's spend 20 billion. Nigeria is moving forward

Useless spending is the highlight of this government - both state and federal.

Vanity..

Imagine paying 6billion to use a stone to stone another stone. Nah Modern day slavery..

If African countries wasn't generating billions to the pilgrimage, they wouldn't have been allowing them to come to their country...whether a religious member or not.

Who do us this thing! This is very shameful for s country that borrowing millions of dollars on a monthly basis.

ManirBK:


https://dailytrust.com/hajj-11-states-spend-n6-2bn-on-pilgrims/

See our priority as a nation.
Saudi raking in billions on pilgrimage

Grossly misplaced priority!👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Nigeria is being ruled and ruined by a bunch of self serving numbskulls💯💯

Complaints to or against s must be sent privately. Please don't disobey, disrespect, or defame them.

And yet Nigerians will still spend heavily for food, jewelries, mecca teeth, clothes, and other materials that will not bring return on investment to Nigeria.

Lost nation

2mch:
Money that children in the North need to eat and go to school. They are spending it on tourism in Saudi to go and touch one stone. Africans make una they think. So strange.

And you still wonder why Africans are poor?
You can't neglect your ancestors, carry all your village wealth and resources to go worship strange gods, enriching strange land and still expect your land and ancestors to yield unto you their blessings!

So long as Africans neglect their own, they will continue to beg for loan from the people who prioritize their gods and Land!

Government should just handover Hajj Rites to Renowned Islamic Scholars in the country and take it back as political gains for all these politicians in the country.

Sick Country, people and Government all for to go throw Stone at Shaitan (Satan).
Money wey fi feed a state and thousands of people, owed salaries and older people wey den deny pensions. Even the useless ones taking the money sef to go go still come back and stay hungry. SMH