Buhari prays at Makkah Grand Mosque ahead of IOC summit
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
Ahead of the summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), President Muhammadu Buhari Friday afternoon, observed Juma’at prayer at the Grand Mosque in Makkah with other heads of state and government already in the Holy City for the conference.
The 14th session of the OIC conference being hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will commence at midnight.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu on Friday, said that Buhari, shortly on his arrival in Makkah Thursday evening, performed the Umrah.
The President is accompanied by the governors of Osun, Niger and Jigawa states.
According to Shehu, the President and the accompanying delegation marched round the Ka’aba before visiting the area between the al-Marwah and al-Safa hills, itself a distance of between three and four kilometres to the Grand Mosque, which is part of the Umrah process.
The Umrah is a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of the year, unlike the hajj which has a fixed time.
It is called the lesser pilgrimage, whereas the hajj is the major pilgrimage which is compulsory for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. The Umrah is optional, but recommended.
President Bihari has less than two weeks ago returned from Makkah where he performed his Hajj.
