The Ogun State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board has commenced the refund of payment for the year 2020/2021 hajj fare deposit by intending pilgrims who could not perform the holy pilgrimage to Mecca and Medinah in line with the directives of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
This follows the cancellation of the 2021 Islamic pilgrimage for foreign pilgrims by the Saudi government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, restricting the annual pilgrimage to citizens and residents and setting a maximum of 60,000 pilgrims.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Alhaji Salau Babatunde while interacting with journalists in his Office at Oke Mosan, Abeokuta said intending pilgrims who are seeking for a refund as a result of the cancellation of the exercise should visit the Board’s Secretariat, Block B Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta with evidence of payment receipts and other documents for the process.
Salau further stressed that it was permitted for those who are willing to defer their hajj fare deposits till 2022 exercise to notify the Board of their decision so as to have them properly documented, assuring all intending pilgrims not to panic over untoward rumours as their money is secured in the hands of the State government.
He enjoined all intending pilgrims to observe COVID-19 safety guidelines and stay safe always, as the decision of the Saudi Arabia authority to cancel this year’s Hajj was borne out of the reality of second wave of the pandemic, urging the public to pray in order to make future hajj exercise a reality.
