The Bauchi State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board on Tuesday said 90 per cent of this year’s Hajj seats would be allocated to intending pilgrims through public ballot.
The Executive Secretary of the Board, Alhaji Abdullahi Hardawa, made this known in Bauchi in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
He said that the balloting was to curb previous sharp practices exhibited by some officials of the Board where seats were arbitrarily allocated contrary to laid down principles.
He added that only 10 per cent of the seats allocated to the state by the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) would be reserved for government officials, preachers, medical teams and aides.
Hardawa said that more than 500 intending pilgrims out of the 740 pilgrims that registered with the Board were successful, noting that officials comprising supervisors, members of governing councils of the board, senior officials from the office of head of service and local Hajj teams would also undergo balloting.
The Board secretary said successful pilgrims would be issued with bank tellers to deposit N850,000 each in designated banks before April 7, 2016.
He explained that the Board would remit 50 per cent of the fare paid by pilgrims during the 2015 Hajj to NAHCON, pending the fixing of the 2016 fare by the Commission.
He gave the assurance that the Board would exhibit transparency in all its dealings throughout the Hajj and warned officials against sharp deals while urging intended pilgrims to assist officials for a hitch-free exercise.
