SThe Saudi Consulate in Kano said on Saturday that it has issued visas to 5,267 intending pilgrims in Kano State for 2014 pilgrimage.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, Alhaji Nuhu Badamasi, the Public Relations Officer of the Kano Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, said 5, 708 applied for visa.
According to Badamasi, the consulate is processing the remaining 441 passports of the intending pilgrims for issuance of visa.
He said the documents containing the details of the issuance were given to officials of the board on Friday to enable them to begin preparation for the intending pilgrims’ transportation to hajj.
Badamasi said the transportation of the intending pilgrims was expected to begin on September 10.
He commended the consulate for the prompt attention it gave to the issuance of visa, saying that the approach would facilitate a stress-free hajj exercise.
He said the board had completed necessary arrangements for a successful hajj operation and urged the stakeholders to give maximum cooperation.
“I also want to appeal to the intending pilgrims to be patriotic by avoiding acts capable of denting the image of the state and the country during the pilgrimage,” he said.
He said induction course organised for the pilgrims would be rounded off soon
