The Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has officially commenced the sale of the 2023 Hajj forms today, Monday, February 6, 2023, with the initial payment fixed at #2.64 million.
The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi, disclosed this recently at the Shamsi Adisa Thomas (SAT) Mosque, Ikeja, during a meeting with the intending pilgrims who could not perform the 2022 Hajj exercise due to limited slots allocated to the State by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
He urged the intending pilgrims, especially those who have not completed the payment of their Hajj fare of #2,640,000.00 in 2022 to raise a bank draft of #1,340,000.00 in favour of the Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board for the balance, stressing that the Board would notify them if there would be any increment or reduction at the appropriate time.
Elegushi stated that the state would not renege on its earlier promise of giving them priority before selling forms to new applicants, adding that they should hurry up to get their new forms (free of charge) through their respective Local Government coordinators for proper documentation as well as to update their current information such as age, address, and health status due to the limited time given by the Saudi Arabian Authority for processing.
The Commissioner sought their understanding regarding any future increment in the Hajj fare, saying the State was not in control of fixing the Hajj fare but the prerogative of the Saudi Arabia Government and a function of the US dollar exchange rate which affects virtually everything including airline fare, accommodation, and other necessary activities.
Informing that, unlike the year 2022 exercise when slots given were grossly inadequate and thus deprived many of the opportunity of performing the spiritual exercise, Elegushi expressed optimism that the State would be allocated enough slots this year to accommodate more intending pilgrims.
