Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq has splurged N120 million on Kwara pilgrims during an unscheduled visit to Kwara houses in Mecca.

Ismail Yahaya, amir hajj for Kwara, disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Mecca on Tuesday.

The governor donated the money to support the 2,204 pilgrims, with each pilgrim receiving 120 riyals (approximately N52,800).

The amir hajj attributed the hitch-free and successful 2025 hajj operation to the governor’s unwavering support for the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board.

According to him, all the board’s requests have been approved by the governor.

“Surprisingly, the executive governor of Kwara state paid an unscheduled visit to Kwara pilgrims. In fact, the day he visited us, I spoke with him up till early morning that day, and he didn’t give any indication he would be coming to visit us.

“He came to check on us, to know how we were faring. And I took him around the journey so far. That same day, he gave me his words that he would be willing to give to each pilgrim from Kwara state a total of 120 riyals per head,” he said.

The amir hajj commended the governor for his tremendous support towards the successful 2025 hajj operation.

“I must first start by commending the effort of the governor. The very first giant stride that he has taken is to make sure that a board for Muslim pilgrims in Kwara state was put in place early enough.

“I can also confirm that my appointment as the amir hajj for the year 2025 came at a very early time, just barely a week after the completion of Ramadan fasting,” he said.

Mr Yahaya said the board’s enlightenment programme for all pilgrims, which spanned about three weeks in the state, was hitch-free.

“The various agencies concerned were there to enlighten our pilgrims so that there will be no problem at any point in time in the course of this exercise,” he said.

The amiru hajj said the first set of airlifting from Kwara was directly to Madina, where a total number of 558 pilgrims were moved.

“Our second airlifting, we moved a total of 556. The third one was where we moved a total of 410. The process of the Hajj proper at Mina, Musdanifa, and Arafat, we are quite appreciative of the efforts of NAHCON, and the authority of the Kwara State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has been highly satisfactory,” he said.

(NAN)