The Executive Secretary of Adamawa Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Umar Bobboyi, on Wednesday, said only 20 per cent of 2018 Hajj pilgrims paid for the 2,601 hajj seats allocated to the state for this year.
Bobboyi told newsmen in Yola that the dateline for payment was March 2018.
He said it was necessary for the intending pilgrims to pay early to enable Saudi Arabian authorities to prepare for the exercise in good time.
He added that the board had met over the development and resolved to embark on public enlightenment in collaboration with the state’s Muslim Council “to ginger the intending pilgrims to expedite payment.
“We will go round for advocacy; we want intending pilgrims to rush and pay as there will be no time extension.
“I also want to call on those who paid but yet to submit their e-passports to do so without further delay.”
The secretary also said things would be costly in Saudi Arabia this time around in view of the introduction of VAT on various services by authorities of that country.
He explained that “those who went to Saudi Arabia in the past five years either for Hajj or Ummrah and wanted to participate in this year’s Hajj would pay additional 2,000 Saudi Riyals, an equivalent of N165,000 on their fare.”
Bobboyi said the official fee for this year’s Hajj was yet to be announced but intending pilgrims were expected to work with last year’s fee of over N1.5 million, pending the announcement of 2018 fare.