The Plateau State Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board has disclosed that 135 intending pilgrims will miss the 2024 Hajj exercise.
The board said that despite making initial deposits, the affected individuals were unable to pay the balance because the payment deadline had expired.
In March, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria,NAHCON, increased the fare for the 2024 pilgrimage from N4.9 million to N6.8 million.
The commission also set March 28 as the deadline for intending pilgrims to complete their payments.
It was gathered that the affected individuals rushed to the state pilgrim welfare board to complete their payments but found no officials to attend them.
But speaking on the issue, the board information officer, Yasir Isma’il, said the affected individuals were unable to pay the balance because the payment deadline had expired.
Mr Ismail explained that NAHCON had already finalised the list of participants for this year’s Hajj, making it impossible for the board to secure additional seats.
He said that although many pilgrims couldn’t meet the initial hajj deposit deadline, the state government approved a loan of two billion naira to secure the state’s quota.
“If you could recall, many intending pilgrims were not able to pay the initial Hajj deposit of N4.9 million up to the dateline given by NAHCON, but the governor approved a loan of two billion naira for the board to secure the state quota.
“We were able to pay for the 1,345 seats allocated to the state, but, unfortunately, the issue of the increase came up and despite all odds, the board was also able to pay for 1,210 seats to allow our intending pilgrim to pay at ease even after the deadline announced by NAHCON.
“For those who came to the board with cash on Friday, honestly they have missed the chance according to the directives by NAHCON as regards the 2024 hajj.”
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