PRESS RELEASE
The announcement followed the recent pronouncement by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) pegging N8.4 million as the initial deposit.
The initial deposit limit is contained in a statement signed by the Executive Secretary of the Board, Sheikh Muhammad Awwal Aliyu, saying that 4,503 seats were allocated to the State.
The Executive Secretary noted that the intending pilgrims have the option of making internal arrangements with their various Area Pilgrims Welfare Officers, (APWO’s ) to make payments in installments to make up for the total fare, this is aimed at easing the financial burden associated with the pilgrimage and allow more individuals to fulfill their religious obligations.
The statement further emphasized that every intending pilgrim must possess an E-passport prior to registration for the payment, to help in streamlining the registration process and shifting from the traditional bank draft system to E- transactions system
According to the Executive Secretary, the initiative will enable any intending pilgrim to be at the comfort of his or her home to make transfer of the money or take the money to the bank and deposit to the Pilgrims Welfare Board account.
He maintained that the the E-passport number would be used as the narration of the payment, having your teller as the evidence of the payment which would be presented to the various Area Pilgrims Welfare Officers(APWO’s).
The statement further explained that the Board would thoroughly evaluate the health status of every Pilgrim in order to determine the eligibility of the Pilgrim right from the local government level to the state level.