More than 200 intending pilgrims from Kwara State on Friday staged a protest at the Ilorin International Airport due to the inability of the hajj commission to airlift them to Saudi Arabia as earlier scheduled.
The delay in airlifting the intending pilgrims Vital News gathered was due to a faulty aircraft which was deployed for the exercise.
They are the last batch of intending pilgrims to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj exercise.
It was gathered that the pilgrims and some hajj officials, including the state 2024 Amirul Hajj had boarded the plane Thursday only for them to disembark later when it was discovered that the plane had developed a technical fault.
The inability of engineers hired to fix the fault led to the delay in airlifting the pilgrims.
Apprehension then started building up among the intended pilgrims, leading them to stage the peaceful protest at the Ilorin International Airport today, Friday, June 7, 2024.
The intending pilgrims who were joined by their relatives, took to the highway, singing solidarity songs and expressing their frustration as the last batch of pilgrims from the state.
Sen. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, the state’s 2024 Amirul Hajj, attributed the delay to the faulty aircraft and assured that another aircraft from Medina is expected to transport the pilgrims.
He appealed for patience, noting that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria is working to resolve the issue.
“The board will continue to provide food for the pilgrims until they are transported to the holy land,” he said.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
