Government doesn’t need to sponsor anyone to perform hajj, rather empower the people financially to embark on the pilgrimage, Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Zikrullah Hassan, has said.
The chairman said this on Sunday at a special prayer organised in his honour by the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) over his appointment as NAHCON chairman.
“Hajj is obligatory on those who can afford it. Let us free government from financial involvement in hajj, government can provide logistics for hajj operation but not sponsoring people to hajj,” he said
The chairman said the frequent increase in hajj fare would make it difficult for people to go for pilgrimage and prevent the commission from exhausting the quota allocated to Nigeria by the Saudi authorities.
Hassan said the introduction of the Hajj Saving Scheme would help to address the challenges and increase the number of people going for hajj exercise.
The chairman said the introduction of hajj saving scheme was to enable the poor to save bit by bit between two and five years, until they are able to get the amount required for hajj.
