Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate representing Borno South Senatorial District, has voiced his call for federal and state governments to subsidize Hajj fees, particularly for first-time pilgrims intending to visit the Holy Land.<\/p>\n
Expressing his concern over the recent increase in Hajj fees by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Senator Ndume condemned the move, labeling it as unfair and a deliberate attempt to impede Nigerian Muslims, especially first-timers, from participating in the sacred pilgrimage.<\/p>\n
In a statement released to journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Senator Ndume criticized NAHCON’s decision to impose additional costs on intending pilgrims who had already paid the previous fees, describing it as unjustifiable and burdensome.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the significance of Hajj in Islam as one of the five pillars of the faith, Senator Ndume emphasized the importance of ensuring accessibility for all Muslims to fulfill their religious obligations, including the pilgrimage to Mecca.<\/p>\n
The adjustment in Hajj fees, announced by NAHCON’s spokesperson, Fatima Sanda-Usara, attributed to the fluctuating exchange rate, has placed financial strain on many intending pilgrims. With the new rate set at N8.5 million, an increase from the previous N4.9 million, the financial barrier has become even more pronounced.<\/p>\n
Senator Ndume appealed to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to consider approving a subsidy for Hajj fares. This subsidy, according to Ndume, would alleviate the financial burden faced by first-time pilgrims and enable them to fulfill their religious obligations without undue financial hardship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate representing Borno South Senatorial District, has voiced his call for federal and state governments to subsidize Hajj fees, particularly for first-time pilgrims intending to visit the Holy Land. Expressing his concern over the recent increase in Hajj fees by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":25036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25035"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25050,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25035\/revisions\/25050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}