Lagos crowned as best Hajj operator

Lagos State has, again, been crowned as the 2016 best hajj operator in Nigeria by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), just as it did in 2015.
In a grand and well-attended award ceremony, Her Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. (Mrs.) Idiat Adebule, who represented His Excellency, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, received seven out of possible eight awards, from Imam Fouhad Adeyemi, the South-West Commissioner of NAHCON, in the Banquet Hall of Lagos House, Ikeja.

Adebule said: “whoever makes people comfortable does Allah’s work. These awards signify making our people comfortable in Hajj,” and thus thanked Ambode for implementing policies that “are continuously creating conducive environment that bring more comfort to the people of Lagos State.”

While appreciating NAHCON for its fairness by recognizing and acknowledging the good performance of the state, Adebule extended assured that Ambode “is ever forward-looking, remains focused on excellence and will strive harder to provide the best measures that will make Hajj operations in the state seamless and more rewarding.”

She was particularly appreciative of God’s grace to the state, saying the awards “are remarkable and symbolic” as they kept coming during the administration of a Christian governor, who is the instrument that God is using to spread goodness. She thanked all stakeholders, such as NAHCON, Hon Commissioner of Home Affairs, Dr. Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, and his staff, the Ulamas and others who, “together are making it possible for Lagos to excel.” She advised all stakeholders to continue to melt barriers and not to “drop standard.”

Adeyemi, said it was because “God has destined Lagos for greatness that he put the right person at the helm of affairs in the state.” He was particularly marvelled at the fact that, a Christian governor “is achieving unprecedented feats in Hajj operation, making it possible for Lagos to be the best in Nigeria and the envy of all. He said he was a witness to many exceptional activities of Abdullateef and his team in Saudi Arabia, which benefitted not only the pilgrims from the state, but also others from different parts of Nigeria and people from other countries as well, especially in terms of transportation and feeding. He declared, “Lagos made the nation proud.”

Abdullateef, while welcoming guests, informed that public enlightenment, education and information management played key roles in the outstanding successes recorded by the state, but the crucial factor, he said, was the robust and full support received from Ambode. He assured that Ambode “will continue to provide enabling appropriate climate where everyone would be able to express and achieve his or her potential to the fullest.”

Lagos came first in “coordination of pilgrims airlift to and from Saudi Arabia”, in “E-Track management and computerization of operation”, and in overall Hajj performance categories; second in “education and public enlightenment” and “transportation”; came third in “provision of accommodation” and coordination of pilgrims feeding.”