– Retains 95,000 slots for Nigerian pilgrims for the 2019 Hajj exercise
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Arabian authorities ahead of the 2019 Hajj exercise.
The agreement signing ceremony, which had in attendance a delegation of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), led by its Chairman, Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar was conducted midweek at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
In a statement signed by the spokesperson of the Commission, Fatima Usara, the Kingdom also retained 95,000 slots for Nigerian pilgrims for the 2019 Hajj exercise.
During the ceremony, Dr. Taher Benten, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah commended the Nigerian Hajj Commission for the successful management of the 2018 Hajj operations.
He appreciated the general conduct of Nigerian pilgrims during the exercise and assured of the Kingdom’s readiness to assist the Nigerian government and people in making the exercise even easier and more comfortable.
In her response, Hon. Khadija Ibrahim extended warm felicitations to the Kingdom on behalf of the Nigerian government for the honorable reception of Nigerian pilgrims.
She applauded all officials of the commission for the smoothness of the exercise, while observing that the task is not an easy one, though they make it seem so due to the efforts they commit during preparations.
The host ministry treated the Nigerian delegation to a lunch feast alongside contingents from Malaysia and Iraq.
The MoU signing meeting is an annual event whereby countries are invited separately to commit to agreements that will shape their participation in the yearly pilgrimage. Nigeria is honored among the early nations to be invited for the prestigious ceremony.
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