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From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, his deputy Philip Shaibu and the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, yesterday, footed the bills of 50 intending pilgrims in the state to this year’s Hajj.
The Chairman, Edo State Muslim Pilgrims Board, Sheik Ibrahim Oyarekhua, who disclosed this said they personally sponsored the beneficiaries with their funds.
Sheik Ibrahim said the governor sponsored 40 persons, deputy governor six while the secretary to the state government sponsored four pilgrims respectively.
He said this in Benin when governor Godwin Obaseki visited the Hajj camp to bid farewell to the 432 intending pilgrims that would be airlifted on June 8, to Makkah.
“432 intending pilgrims including two officials are going for this years Hajj. 190 are female and 244 are male.
” This is the first time since the creation of the state that we have this huge numbers of intending pilgrims.
” The governor has been very supportive. This Hajj, the governor has sponsored 40 persons from his pocket, the deputy governor and SSG also sponsored six and four respectively with their personal fund”
He said when he did a memo to the state governor on the Hajj sponsorship through the SSG following the meeting they had last year while presenting Hajj report, he decline the memo saying “he is not going to use government money to sponsor pilgrims.
“But when we met at Auchi during breaking of Ramadan fast with the Otaru of Auchi, the governor said to me “let me have the list of the pilgrims, I will sponsor them from my pocket and not from, government’s account”
He appealed to the governor to assist in expanding the Hajj camp which he said is too small to accommodate the intending pilgrims as some of them had to sleep outside till this morning.
On his part, Governor Godwin Obaseki, admonished the intending pilgrims that this year’s Hajj is very significant as Nigeria needs prayers to overcome its present challenges.
“This year’s Hajj for me is very significant because Nigeria is facing challenges. You move up and down, you are concern and you would say which way Nigeria but with God, nothing is impossible and that is why he has made it possible for you to embark on journey to Makkah and pray that God Almighty show us mercy for us to overcome the trouble and the crisis we found our selves”, Obaseki said.
He continues: “this year’s Hajj is one of sacrifice, supplications, prayers and giving everything to ensure that God has mercy on us and pull Nigeria back and turned the hand of the people who have the responsibility to know that it is no longer about them but about Nigeria.
The governor who said he was at the camp to bid the pilgrims farewell to the holy land, promised that work on the expansion of the camp would commenced before the pilgrims returned from Makkah.
“Before I became governor, we don’t have Haji camp and offices. We still have a lot of work to do, we need to expand the camp because our population is increasing. The expansion would start before returning from Hajj”
