The Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board has set September 5 as the deadline for 2027 intending pilgrims to submit their e-passports.

The board’s director-general, Abubakar Ibrahim-Matawalle, announced this while addressing journalists on Monday in Kano.

Mr Ibrahim-Matawalle said failure to meet the deadline would result in the seat being allocated to another qualified person, noting that 200 intending pilgrims were already on standby.

According to him, the measure is necessary to enable the state to meet the timeline set by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for the 2027 Hajj exercise.

He further said monies from intending pilgrims who failed to meet the deadline would be refunded within 24 hours.

Mr Ibrahim-Matawalle added that the board was working assiduously to improve its operations and ensure that pilgrims received value for their money.

The DG said his plan for the 2027 Hajj exercise included early airlift of pilgrims, improved accommodation, and better reception.

He added that drastic measures had been put in place regarding Nusuk.

“My greatest commitment is to ensure that pilgrims have a very good, decent reception and comfortable accommodation where they will be able to perform their religious rites without any distress.

“One of the areas I want to address is accommodation.

Last year, I could not understand why there were about nine to ten houses for the pilgrims.

Honestly, nine to ten houses are absolutely unnecessary.”They will constitute problems with regard to monitoring the welfare of pilgrims, provision of basic amenities like feeding, medical inspections, and general inspections that I normally conduct daily,” he said.

The DG recalled that he had to go from one house to another among the nine houses, which was very strenuous and stressful.

Mr Ibrahim-Matawalle, however, said that this time around, he intends to use only two houses for the 3,050 pilgrims.

He said he had also taken cognisance of the areas where the board had lapses last year, assuring that this year’s Hajj operation, by the grace of Almighty Allah, would not have problems.

“The other issue is pilgrims’ departure; last year, we were almost the last to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia. But this time around, I have pledged and discussed with the airliners.

“I have expressed my serious commitment. We will never be the last. If we cannot be the first, we will definitely be the second. We will be in the middle.

“These are the fundamental issues that created problems in other areas. We are going to tackle them, inshallah,” Mr Ibrahim-Matawalle said.

(NAN)