There are over 1.2 million pilgrims from different parts of the world currently in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2023 hajj and among them are no fewer than 62,595 successfully Nigerians airlifted by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, Muslim News can authoritatively confirm.
The global figure which represents 46% of the expected representation of 2.6 million pilgrims to perform the largest ever hajj for the first time since COVID-19, was released on Sunday by Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj.
NAHCON, a regulatory agency for hajj and umrah in Nigeria also disclosed on Sunday night that 500 pilgrims from Kano state departed via Gombe at 21:43hrs to the Prince Muhammad Bin AbdulAzeez International Airport, Madinah.
The latest figure revealed that Nigeria has airlifted 62,595 in 149 flights since the airlifting operations commenced on May 25, with 10,751 pilgrims (excluding pilgrims with licensed hajj and umrah operators) expected to be airlifted before the closure of Jeddah on midnight of June 22.
