February 27, (THEWILL) – On Wednesday, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) disclosed that Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s contingent to the 2025 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Prof. Abdullahi Saleh, who disclosed this, said the Vice President would be performing the yearly religious rite (the fifth pillar of Islam) as a Muslim and would personally supervise the spiritual exercise, and assess how it would be handled by those saddled with the responsibility, instead of relying on third party information.
Saleh said the move will guard against misinformation, which has given rise to the negative media reportage and narratives of the Hajj over the years.
Speaking on ongoing arrangements for this year’s pilgrimage, the Hajj Commission boss confirmed that provision for over 70,000 pilgrims from the 95,000 quota had been made.
He disclosed that the Saudi authorities have introduced new dual health measures, including Health Service Providers for pilgrims, which all participating countries would abide by.
According to him, “The two categories of Health Service Providers are the all-encompassing Health Service Provider, in which all health matters of pilgrims, from supervision, diagnosis to treatment and medicaments would be exclusively handled by Saudi health officials, doctors and hospitals.
“The second provider would play a supervisory role only in which the Saudi health officials would ensure conformity and adherence to laid down health laws, rules, regulations and guidelines for pilgrims.”
Professor Abdullahi advised state pilgrims welfare boards, agencies and commissions to strictly adhere to the Saudi health guidelines on the pilgrim’s health condition to ensure that only healthy and able-bodied persons embarked on the pilgrimage to guard against fatalities and casualties. Saleh advised state pilgrims welfare boards, agencies and commissions to strictly adhere to the Saudi health guidelines.
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