THE NATIONAL Hajj Commission of Nigeria says five Nigerian pilgrims have lost their lives since the beginning of the 2017 Hajj Operation.

The Executive Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, disclosed this during the 2017 Pre-Arafat meeting with stakeholders.

The meeting was organised by the commission on Tuesday in Mecca, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Muhammad, however, did not disclose the names of the deceased, saying that the commission would first reach out to their families before revealing their identify to the public.

Similarly, the NAHCON boss said the commission recorded one delivery and one miscarriage, assuring that the commission would continue to provide effective healthcare service to pilgrims.

Muhammad vowed that no amount of threat, arm twisting, ill motivated criticisms and real or imaginary hurdles would deter the commission from achieving its goals.

The executive chairman also called on all stakeholders to put all hands on deck to ensure a hitch free exercise.

He said no one should rest on his oars until every pilgrim successfully carried out the hajj rites and safely returned to Nigeria.

A total 81,200 Nigerian pilgrims would join their muslims counterparts from around the world to perform this year’s hajj.

Over two million pilgrims from around the world and Saudi Arabia have assembled in Mecca to perform the 2017 Hajj rites beginning from Wednesday, according to a local Newspaper, The Saudi Gazette.

Afterwards, the pilgrims would move to Muna where they will stay for five days during which they will throw pebbles at Satan. – Eagle Online

– Aug 30, 2017 @ 10:23 GMT