Last batch of pilgrims assured of flight

6/11/2010

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Chairman of the National Hajj Committee (NHC), Alhaji Alhasan Bene, has given assurance that all the prospective pilgrims will be air-lifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, contrary to suggestions that some of them will be left out.
Consequently, the NHC has contracted a bigger aircraft to convey the remaining 500 pilgrims to Saudi tomorrow, November 7, 2010.
Nine Egyptian Airline flights have already taken about 2,400 Ghanaian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Bene attributed the delay in the issuance of visas by the Saudi Embassy in Accra to the fact that Ghana had exceeded its 2,500 quota for this year.
He said the NHC had applied to the Saudi Hajj authorities for increase in the quota and indicated that as soon as the request was approved, the Saudi Embassy would issue the remaining visas hopefully by the end of work today.
On suggestions that the NHC could not lift all the pilgrims, he said it was just normal for people to speculate, but “the NHC will send all the pilgrims that have paid to Saudi Arabia”.
Alhaji Bene said his outfit had already made the necessary arrangements in terms of accommodation and transportation in Saudi to cater for the increased number of pilgrims.