Hajj airfare: NAHCON makes U-turn, asks pilgrims to pay 40% increment  – Newstrends
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Hajj airfare: NAHCON makes U-turn, asks pilgrims to pay 40% increment 

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Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan

Hajj airfare: NAHCON makes U-turn, asks pilgrims to pay 40% increment 

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has made a U-turn on its promise that pilgrims won’t pay the extra cost of $250 on airfare as a result of the ongoing crisis in Sudan.

The increased fare was introduced because of the shutdown of the Sudanese which will now cause a longer travel time to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

NAHCON, therefore, charged the pilgrims to pay 40% of the added $250 to the fare.

But speaking in Abuja during a training exercise organised for staff of NAHCON, state pilgrim boards and private tour operators,

Recall that the NAHCON chairman, Zikrullah Hassan, while speaking at a training session with the staff, state pilgrim boards and private tour operators assured that pilgrims would not be made to bear the emerging additional cost.

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“Our local airlines after several negotiations accepted the sum of $250 to the increase in the cost of air tickets for this year’s operation because of the conflict in Sudan and we are praying that the mindless killing of people will be stopped soon.

We are still paying earnestly for a quick and peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sudan so that the airspace could be open and there will be a stop to the mindless killing of the people of Sudan.”

“We have decided that whatever decision we will take, it will not require the pilgrims to pay additional funds into the hands of the respective pilgrim boards in their state. They will not need to pay more money,” he had said.

However, in a statement on Monday, NAHCON’s Deputy Director of Information, Moisa Ubandawaki, said the commission decided that the pilgrims would pay 40 per cent ($100) of the hike in airfare after the Federal Government subsidised operations for airlines to make the airlift.

“This would further alleviate the additional cost of the airfare for the Nigerian pilgrims. The government had earlier waived 65% of the aviation charges to bring down the cost of Hajj. With this development, the $250 addition negotiated with the airlines will be reduced by $55.

“The liability of the remaining $195 will be borne by the 75,000 pilgrims which is calculated at $117 per pilgrim to offset the $117 without causing additional financial obligations on the Pilgrims, the Commission resolved to reduce the Basic Travelling Allowance for 2023 Hajj Pilgrims to the sum of $700 against $800.00 provided in the Hajj package already paid by the pilgrims,” the statement added.

Hajj airfare: NAHCON makes U-turn, asks pilgrims to pay 40% increment

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

Justice Olaolu Olanipekun of Oyo State Magistrates’ Court 7 sitting in Iyaganku, Ibadan, has issued a warrant for the arrest of a prophet of a Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) church, Ojo Amos (aka Elewuogbo).

Justice Olanipekun ordered that Elewuogbo and his two sureties be arrested and detained for jumping bail.

Elewuogbo is on trial for alleged defamation of character of the Founder of One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaj Ji.

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Elewuogbo and a Lagos-based blogger, Gbenga Asabe, had, through publications, accused Maharaj Ji of selling human body parts for money rituals.

The court also granted request for consolidation of the cases against Elewuogbo and Asabe brought by Maharaj Ji’s counsel, Dapo Akinosi.

Akinosi prayed the court that since the facts were related, they should be merged. The court granted the application and adjourned the case till April 30.

Defamation: Court orders arrest of prophet, two others

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

Three students of one of the universities in northern part of the country, Al-qalam University, Katsina, have dragged the institution to a High Court in Katsina over payment of registration fees.

The applicants, Hauwa’u Sani-Barda, Rabi’atu Sani-Barda and Hafsat Sani-Barda, all students of the respondent, got admission in 2018 and 2019, and graduated in 2022 and 2023.

They, however, claimed that the respondents had refused to mobilise them for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), because they had not settled all fees due to the institution.

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During the proceedings on Thursday, the applicants’ counsel, Muhammad Mukhtar-Lawal, told the court that his clients had filed an exparte motion in pursuance to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Mukhtar-Lawal said that the application sought the leave of the court to apply for judicial review.

After the counsel’s submission, the judge, Justice Abbas Bawale, said that the applicants should have filed a motion on notice.

Bawale, however, granted a leave order to the applicants to apply for judicial review by way of mandamus.
He said after that, processes would be served on the university and enable the court to hear the case.

Students drag university to court over payment of registration fees

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has exposed a counterfeit bottled water operation in Port Harcourt, specifically targeting the renowned brand Eva water.

Following a tipoff, NAFDAC officials conducted a raid on a derelict shop situated on Pipeline Road, Eneka.

The establishment disguised as a pool house and served as the hub for producing the fraudulent water.

During the operation, authorities discovered that used Eva plastic bottles were being refilled with contaminated water sourced from a paint bucket.

The water was then filtered through unhygienic rubber funnels covered with cloth.

Counterfeit Eva labels were affixed to the bottles, which were subsequently sealed with fake Eva corks.

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One suspect, identified as Chibunna James, was apprehended while in the process of loading the adulterated water for distribution. However, the mastermind behind the operation remains at large.

The confiscated products were promptly evacuated to the NAFDAC office for further investigation and analysis.

Cyril Monye, NAFDAC’s Public Relations Officer for Rivers State, disclosed that the scheme of the perpetrators involved repackaging contaminated water in used Eva bottles, employing makeshift filters made from unsanitary materials, and applying fake labels and corks to deceive consumers.

While efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the ringleader of the syndicate, NAFDAC urges the public to provide any relevant information that could aid in their apprehension.

Furthermore, Monye revealed that thirty packs of the counterfeit products were confiscated and transported to the NAFDAC office in Port Harcourt for thorough investigation. To prevent the circulation of the counterfeit water, the uncorked bottles were emptied and disposed of.

NAFDAC busts fake Eva water factory, arrests suspect

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