By SALISU SANI-IDRIS

Malam Abba Limawa, 52, a Nigerian pilgrim from Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa State, has returned 10,500 Russian rubles, 800 dollars and 690 Saudi Riyals, he found, to the authority in Makkah.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Limawa, handed over the different currencies to the Executive Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Jalal Arabi during the post-Afarat conference, held on Wednesday in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

The pilgrims explained that he found the money inside a waist bag, while on his way to pray at the Masjid Haram (Mosque).

”Initially, I wanted to ignore the waist bag and moved to the Mosque, but on a second thought, I said it might belong to a Nigerian, especially some of our old women.

“So, I decided to pick it, and I proceeded to the mosque. When I returned to my accommodation, I opened the bag and discovered that there is no Nigerian currency and no any sign that it belonged to a Nigerian.

”Immediately, I approached one of the officials of the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Boards, narrated the story and presented the money to him.

”From there, he commended me for showing an exemplary character and honesty and told me that he will handover the money to the NAHCON, to ensure that the owner gets his or her money,” he said.

Responding, Arabi commended Limawa for being honest and projecting the image of Nigeria positively at the international arena.

Earlier, in his presentation on the outcome of the just concluded Hajj ritual, the NAHCON boss explained that the aim of the post-Afarat conference was to review what had transpired.

“This will enable us to have a sincere post-mortem of what we did at the battle field and improve on the success recorded.”

Arabi disclosed that Saudi government had released the time-table and timeline for the 2025 Hajj operation on Tuesday.

“Perhaps by Thursday we will have known what they allocate (Hajj slots allocation) to each nation of the world, how the visas will commence.

“But interestingly for the first time, they (Saudi authority) have opened the e-portal as from Tuesday.”

He, therefore, called on the States Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Tour Operators and all other stakeholders to take notes of the development.

Also, the Head of Aviation of NAHCON, Malam Goni Sanda, said that three flights carrying pilgrims from Kebbi, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will take off to Nigeria on June 22. (NAN)

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