THE National Hajj Commission (NAHCOM) says no Nigerian pilgrim would be stranded in Saudi Arabia after the completion of all hajj rites in the holy land.
A statement from NAHCOM indicated that more than 65,682 pilgrims have been airlifted back home, representing 77 per cent of all pilgrims who performed this year's hajj to the holy land.
Federal hajj commissioner in charge of policy, personnel management and finance, Alhaji Liad Tella, in the statement, noted that the targeted final airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back to Nigeria is on or before January 6, 2009 under the principle of first come, first to leave. Liad stated that 164 flights had been operated on the return leg, adding that 254 flights were operated during the outbound journey.
"The number of flights might be increased due to the introduction of five additional 747 aircraft to replace the 752 used. More flights have been made to Nigeria by the airlines since last Monday while seven flights of Boeing 747 have been leaving for different airports in Nigeria daily since Saturday, December 20, 2008, "the commissioner said.
He disclosed that less than 19,318 pilgrims out of the 85,000 that performed the hajj were still in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, pointing out that efforts were on to ensure that all the pilgrims were airlifted back to Nigeria even before the January 6 deadline.NAHCOM chairman, Alhaj Mohammed Bello, had maintained that the rule of first come first to go must be obeyed and followed. "No pilgrim is bigger than the other before Allah," he said.
Meanwhile, Med-View Airlines, one of the carriers for the hajj operations, said it concluded the exercise yesterday with the arrival in Lagos of 675 pilgrims in two separate flights. The passengers, according to the company, were the last batch of pilgrims drawn from Edo, Osun and Oyo States who arrived in Boeing 747 and 757 into the waiting hands of their State Pilgrims Welfare Board officials, relations and friends gathered at the Hajj Camp of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
