Nigerian Muslim pilgrims from Oyo State who are already in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2022 Hajj rituals appear are reportedly stranded as Oyo Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim Wing) under the leadership of Prof. Prof. Sayed Malik, has failed to pay about 250 pilgrims the Basic Travel Allowance (BTA).

The National Hajj Commission, NAHCON, had fixed N2.5 million as 2022 Hajj Fee, adding that it is inclusive of $800 BTA per pilgrim.

However, Oyo state Pilgrims Welfare Board (Muslim Wing) under Prof. Malik collected N2.6 million from each of the intending pilgrims as against N2.5 million announced by NAHCON.

The first batch of pilgrims from the state left Murtala International Airport, Lagos aboard FlyNas airline in the early hour of Sunday, June 19, 2022.

But, five days after their arrival in Madinah, the pilgrims are yet to be paid their BTA, leaving them stranded with no money to feed.

Surprisingly, the second batch that arrived Madinah on Thursday, June 23, came with $400 each.

However, they said they were ‘blackmailed’ into collecting $400 each from Nigeria as the officials asked them to either collect or be dropped from this year’s trip.

Reports from Madinah say that many pilgrims have fallen sick but unfortunately, they have no money to feed not to talk of buying drugs.

The medical personnel that accompanied the pilgrims are said to have no basic drugs to give them.

The pilgrims who made the first batch had paid for the Hajj since 2020 but could not travel because of COVID-19 pandemic that compelled the Saudi Arabian Government to ban foreign pilgrims for two years.

There are allegations that the Oyo State Government may have diverted the pilgrims’ funds hence, the inability to pay their BTA.

The situation became unbearable on Thursday afternoon, June 23, when the pilgrims openly protested, calling on Governor ’Seyi Makinde to direct the Board to pay their BTA.

A video that has gone viral shows the pilgrims protesting non-payment of their BTA.

They complained that others states paid their pilgrims on arrival in Madinah, citing Osun State that has since paid $800 BTA as an example.

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