Governor Uba Sani has directed that Kaduna State pilgrims should be adequately catered for before, during and after the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in this year’s hajj.

The Director of Operations of Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Abubakar Usman Yusuf, promised that management and staff would comply with the directive.

A press statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ibraheem Musa, quoted the director as saying that efforts had been put in place to ensure that Kaduna State pilgrims are comfortable.

Mr Abubakar disclosed that ‘’the governor has already remodelled and upgraded the Mando Hajj Transit Camp with modern facilities for a seamless Hajj operation.’

‘’The camp now has a five star hotel facilities, with dedicated sections for male and female intending pilgrims, with comfortable rooms and sanitary facilities.”

The director further said that ‘’there is a state-of-the-art ICT Centre, an ultra modern hall and offices at the Hajj camp,” adding that ‘’the head office of the pilgrims agency can operate from there, to facilitate the movement of pilgrims to the airport.’’

He addedthat the hajj camp had been tarred and security reinforced, with a section dedicated as a commercial hub, where intending pilgrims can make all their purchases without going outside the premises.

According to him, the hajj camp which is located at Mando in the Igabi local government has constant power supply which will further ease hajj operations this year.

The director also thanked Mr Sani for donating a fleet of CNG buses to the Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, as the logistics support will convey pilgrims to the airport without hassles.

Mr Abubakar also said that arrangements had been made in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrims to be comfortable in the Holy Land in this year’s hajj.

The director commended Mr Sani for the successes that the pilgrims agency has been recording since he assumed office in 2023, culminating in better hajj operations.

He recalled that Kaduna State Pilgrims Welfare Agency was honoured for its high quality accommodation for pilgrims in 2023.

In 2024, the Independent Hajj Reporters also commended Kaduna State for successfully evacuated all intending pilgrims to Makkah, ten days before the closing of the King AbdulAzeez International Airport,’’ he recalled.

Mr Abubakar also said that the agency was commended for its transparency in the “Hadaya” (animal sacrifice) process, which resulted in a $50 refund to pilgrims.