Muslim pilgrims finally depart Taraba for Hajj

Muslim pilgrims from Taraba State finally made their way to the holy land in Saudi Arabia via Yola International Airport.

The pilgrims, who ought to have long departed the country, had been stranded following the alleged inability of their flight operators to meet their schedules.

Bidding them farewell, Deputy Governor Aminu Abdullahi Alkali urged them not to allow the delay that characterised their airlifting to dampen their spirits and that they should rather take it as a blessing from Allah.

Alkali, who also charged them to be good ambassadors of the state and the country at large, stressed the need for them to pray fervently for the peace and growth of Taraba and the Nigerian nation.

While affirming the desire of the incumbent administration of Governor Agbu Kefas to address the security challenge bedevilling Taraba and then catapult the state to new heights, he said pilgrims’ prayers will go a long way in making the visions achievable.

He also lauded the leadership of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), which, according to him, has been working round the clock to make the 2023 Hajj successful.

Expressing Governor Agbu Kefa’s readiness to carry all Tarabans along, irrespective of religious differences, he charged the pilgrims to eschew acts that are capable of soiling the good image of the state.

The deputy governor, who also doubled as the Amirul Hajj, assured the people of the state that none of the pilgrims from Taraba would abscond from the Holy Land.

Some of the pilgrims, who could not hide their joy when their much-anticipated flight finally arrived, believed that at the end of the exercise, the much-desired peace in the state would come to stay.

Report has it that out of the 1,750 seats allocated to pilgrims from Taraba State by NAHCON, 100 were reportedly reserved for the state government.