Governor Uba Sani has been commended for both sanitizing Hajj operations and appointing competent people to head the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency.
The Kaduna State Council Chairman of Nigerian Union of Journalists(NUJ), Alhaji AbdulGafaar Alabelewe, gave the commendation when officials of the union paid a courtesy call on the Agency.
The NUJ also described the appointment of Malam Salihu S. Abubakar as the Executive Chairman of the Agency, as putting a square peg, in a square hole, adding that his incorruptibility and penchant for due process is needed to move the Agency forward.
Alhaji AbdulGafaar said that Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency recorded a lot of successes during the last Hajj, which include the refund of $50 to each of the 2024 pilgrims who paid for hadiya in Nigeria.
He also mentioned that Kaduna pilgrims got accommodation close to the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, at a price below the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) benchmark.
According to the NUJ Chairman, the recent refund of N61,080 to 2023 pilgrims in record time has demonstrated that Malam Salihu and members of his Board are committed to sanitising Hajj exercise.
AbdulGafaar also commended the agency for renovating and rehabilitating the pilgrim hajj transit camp in Mando, attributing these successes to the honesty and accountability of the leadership.
The Council Chairman pledged the NUJ’s continued support in enlightening intending pilgrims and called on all journalists to provide the agency with maximum support.
Responding, Malam Salihu thanked journalists for their cordial relationship with the agency and he pledged to strengthen it, advising that they should ‘’try and crosscheck any information about us that is not palatable, our doors are open for clarification.’’
The Executive Chairman expressed gratitude to Governor Uba Sani for his support, stating that all that the Agency achieved was as a result of his backing.
Rel/Adamu Yusuf
