Sheikh Kabiru Gombe, a respected Islamic scholar, has called upon the Nigerian government and state governors to extend assistance to intending Hajj pilgrims. He emphasized that it is time for them to experience the advantages of supporting a Muslim-Muslim ticket during the 2023 presidential election.

During a Ramadan Tafseer session in Abuja on Monday, Sheikh Kabiru Gombe expressed his concerns regarding the increased Hajj fare for 2024. The National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) recently raised the pilgrimage cost to Saudi Arabia by an additional N1,918,032.91. Furthermore, the deadline for intending pilgrims to submit their payments was set for March 28, 2024.

Initially, NAHCON had fixed the 2024 Hajj fare at N4.9 million, but later announced an increment of N1.9 million, bringing the total amount to N6.8 million.

In response to this development, Malam Gombe highlighted that the increased Hajj fare may prevent many intending pilgrims from participating in this year’s pilgrimage. Consequently, he appealed to President Bola Tinubu and his deputy Kashim Shettima to address the situation and find a solution to balance the payment for the 50,000 intending pilgrims in the country.

“The current circumstances indicate that if the government does not intervene and balance the payments for Nigerians, they will be unable to perform Hajj this year, which would be a disgrace to our Muslim leaders. It is not the fault of the intending pilgrims as the commission had determined the amount, and some individuals have even sold their properties to meet the payment. With this increment, they are left with no choice but to request a refund. This is not the first time; even former presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan, who are not Muslim, provided some financial assistance to intending pilgrims during their tenure,” Sheikh Kabiru Gombe remarked.

He further appealed to Muslim governors to consider assisting with the payment if the Federal Government does not take action to address the issue.

“Where are the northern governors? Abba Gida-Gida of Kano State, Dikko Raddaa of Katsina, Zulum of Borno, Bago of Niger, Danmodi of Jigawa State, Inuwa of Gombe, and Uba Sani of Kaduna, please take urgent measures to help your people perform Hajj this year,” added Sheikh Kabiru Gombe.