INDEPENDENT Hajj Reporters, a Civil Society Organisation that monitors and reports Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria, says “it will honour Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State as the 2018 Hajj Governor of the year on April 18, 2019’’.

The group made this known in a statement jointly signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed and the Planning Committee Organising Secretary Malam Garba Muhammad on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the group, the event is meant to show appreciation to those who contributed to the tremendous achievements recorded in hajj operation in the past few years.

“The annual hajj excellence award is created to recognise and reward individuals and organisations who excelled in the course of Hajj exercise.

“It is also to show gratitude for services well rendered to the pilgrims and to make hajj stakeholders, service providers, and administrators to be aware that efforts will be rewarded which will then be beneficial to our pilgrims.

“The civil society had earlier constituted a screening committee to collate performance of state Muslim pilgrims welfare boards with emphasis on the responses of state governors to hajj and hajj related memos to requests made by their respective states muslim pilgrims welfare boards before, during and after 2018 hajj exercise’’.

The group said that the outcome of the screening committee showed that Gov. Bello of Kogi had accorded top priority to hajj issues speedily.

“The award will be conferred on Gov. Bello on April 18, 2019 at Stone hedge hotel in Abuja.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that The Nigerian Hajj and Umrah Excellence Awards were launched in 2017.

The maiden edition of 2017 also had a public presentation of hajj reporter’s website, a ground-breaker in delivering hajj related content.

The 2018 Excellence Awards are set to encompass a much wider recognition of service providers from Government agencies, Airliners, hoteliers and catering companies. (NAN)

– Apr. 2, 2019 @ 12:59 GMT |