Governor Umar Bago of Niger has declared that pilgrims would be airlifted from the state capital straight to Saudi Arabia next year.
Bago made the promise at Muna, an outskirts of the holy city of Makkah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
He said approval have been secured for Minna Airport project on the eve of the last administration.
Bago said: “Unfortunately, the people who handled the Minna Airport project were not serious about it from the beginning. The approval was done on the eve of the last administration.
“The contract was awarded for the drainage to the runway. But we have met with the contractor, we have gone very far and we are very optimistic on that.”
He also pledged to build a first-class Hajj transit camp for the state pilgrims to ease their movement to Saudi Arabia.
Governor Bago said his administration’s is in discussion with Saudi Arabian authority to procure 100 gas powered buses to ameliorate the stress pilgrims go through during the core Hajj period.
“I have been opportune to visit Saudi Arabia for Hajj severally. Alhamdulillah, this is one of the smoothest we have had despite the population.
“The arrangement has been very wonderful. We have done our Hajj rites. We have been to all the places we are expected to visit as pilgrims. So far so good, everything has been going on very well,” he said.
Bago called on all the state pilgrims to pray for President Bola Tinubu’s good health, prosperity and wisdom to lead the country.
“They (pilgrims) should pray for peace in Nigeria, we have been battling with insecurity, and we pray to Allah to grant us his mercy and bring an end to the insecurity in our state and country.
“We are appealing to Nigerians to be patient with different policies of the government that aim at bringing economic prosperity. It is going to be tough from the begging, but am sure by the grace of God we will surmount it.
” And as a people from Niger State, we are very sure that as we have started, we are going to hit the ground running. With Allah on our side, we will succeed,” the governor assured.
