As the special consideration for first-time Hajj pilgrims take effect in the country, about 325 intending Muslim pilgrims from Plateau State have been disqualified from embarking on the pilgrimage.
The major reason for their disqualification, according to the Plateau State Secretary of the Muslim Welfare Board, Salisu Musa, is that they had travelled more than once to Mecca on holy pilgrimage against the new policy by the National Hajj Commission to prioritise first-timers. As a result, the 1,625 seats always allotted to Plateau were reduced by 325.
Musa, who made the disclosure at a press briefing in Jos, the Plateau State capital said the disqualified intending pilgrims were affected by 20 per cent reduction of the number of pilgrims that the Saudi Arabian Government said it could accommodate this year because of the ongoing construction work on the Holy Mosque of Ka’aba in Mecca.
Musa said all the intending first-time pilgrims would undergo screening by the Ulama Screening Committee as required, and that anyone who fails the screening exercise, which may result from poor knowledge of Islam and the tenets of Hajj, would be disqualified.
He informed journalists that the agreement was reached at a meeting of the National Hajj Commission to disqualify those who had earlier embarked on the pilgrimage. He said the screening exercise would be carried out free of charge and also warned officers in the screening exercise against fraudulent practices, saying they would face the law if caught.
