Lagos State Government has assured that the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to every intending pilgrim from the state before embarking on the 2021 Hajj exercise to Saudi Arabia.
The Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofiu Olanrewaju Elegushi, gave the assurance while delivering his opening remark at a training programme organised by the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board for its schedule officers, Ulamah and Hajj guides.
He emphasised that the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu would do everything humanly possible to ensure that all intending pilgrim are vaccinated despite the fact that the vaccines given to the state by the Federal Government is may not cover the state’s population.
Speaking further on the theme: ‘Way forward for the year 2021 Hajj Operation and Preparation,’ Elegushi urged the participants to see their appointment as Schedule Officers, Ulamah, and Hajj Guides as a call to the service of Allah and trust for which they would be held accountable by God on the day of judgment.
He urged them to be good ambassadors of the state and carry out their assignments to the best of their ability. The Asiwaju of Ikateland said that the participants were faced with a very sensitive assignment of seeing to the welfare of the intending pilgrims both in Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and they had to deliver satisfactorily.
While calling for synergy and harmonious working relationships among the participants, he reiterated that the training became imperative because the state was not ready to jeopardize its enviable position as the best amongst the states in Nigeria when it comes to Hajj operation. He stressed that only teamwork and commitment to efficient and effective service delivery to the intending pilgrims would sustain the state’s leadership position.
The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Mr. Rahman Ishola, expressed appreciation to Governor Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Kadri Hamzat for their unflinching support to the Board.
He added that with their support, the Board was poised to successfully implement the administration’s policy of providing a seamless Hajj experience for all intending pilgrims irrespective of tribe, class, and educational background.
Facilitators at the well-attended training programme included the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Islamic Matters, Hon. Jebe-Abdullai Ahmad, who gave a lecture on the topic, ‘Relationship between the Schedule Officers, Ulamah and Intending Pilgrims’.
Others were Dr. Mutiu Olakunle Afariogun, a Consultant Orthopaedics, and Trauma Surgeon at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), who presented a paper on ‘How to manage Stress,’ and Mr. Awe Jamiu, a Chief Administrative and Human Resource officer with the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, who presented a paper on ‘Hajj Overview’.
