Lagos-based businessman, Alhaji Kazeem Adewale Hamzat has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention in ensuring that this year’s Hajj is successful.
Hamzat who is also the Akinrogun Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, spoke in Makkah, Saudi Arabia shortly after celebrating the Eid.
He said many of the Nigerian pilgrims that performed this year’s Hajj wouldn’t have made it to the holy land but for the intervention of President Tinubu.
“President Tinubu gave a directive to the leadership of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to take proactive measure to ensure that all Saudi-bound Nigerian pilgrims were taken care of.”
“To save the situation, the NAHCON leadership organised five rescue flights in case there was any hitch that could have torpedoed the targeted completion date.
“Though the rescue flights were later cancelled after the successful completion of outbound operations, it is the first time in Nigeria’s history that such arrangement would be made to forestall any hitch. So we commend the president for his quick intervention”.
“The Federal Government must continue to assist NAHCON in ensuring that Nigerian Pilgrims are given the best services,” he said.
Chief Hamzat also applauded the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) Zikrullah Hassan, for making the 2023 Hajj a success, adding that without their support and pro-activeness, the successful transportation of the 95,000 eligible Nigerian pilgrims to the Holy Land would have been difficult.
He attributed the success of the outbound movement of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to the tremendous progress made by the Commission, even as he urged NAHCON to address the issue of the Hajj agents that allegedly duped many people, thereby depriving people from going to the holy land.