By Damola Emmanuel
The Ekiti State Government has taken the bull by the horn by cancelling the age-long tradition of government using tax-payers money to sponsor people on personal pilgrimage to Mecca and Jerusalem.
Sequel to its withdrawal of state sponsorship of personal pilgrimage, the Kayode Fayemi Administration enjoined faithful of religions who desire pilgrimage to any of the holy lands to fund their activity by themselves.
The development has elicited loud applause from Nigerians, across the country, who had been advocating for a halt to state sponsorship of pilgrimages over the years.
The Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, dropped the bombshell during a meeting he held with members of the State Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, telling them emphatically that both the federal and state governments had stopped sponsoring pilgrims on holy pilgrimages.
This, he emphasized was to enable government to conserve scarce resources for development purposes.
Pointedly, he told the board members, led by its Chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Onipede, that anyone desirous of pilgrimage to any of the holy lands should do so through private savings.
“Both the Federal Government and the State Government have said they will not spend their money on pilgrimages again, and that is why there was no budgetary allocation to it,” Egbeyemi declared.
“Anybody wishing to perform his religious obligation of going to the Holy Lands must do so with his own personal savings, and that was what I told the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) when their executives made a similar request, because we must be fair to all.”
He, however, promised to look into the board’s demand for office furniture and utility vehicles, assuring that the Fayemi Administration was ready to assist the board in the performance of its statutory duties.
Egbeyemi also expressed satisfaction with the peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians in the state.
Responding, Onipede thanked Governor Kayode Fayemi and his deputy for finding him and other members of the board worthy of being appointed to serve.
He, however, observed that the board was badly run by the previous and it had become expedient for him to draw the attention of Governor Fayemi to the situation for necessary assistance.
“It was not functioning as a board during the Fayose administration; it was just lying fallow there and was not run like a board,” Onipede said.
“In Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, we don’t have utility vehicles. Our utility vehicle in Saudi Arabia has been grounded since 2018.”
Onipede said the board also needed furniture and more funds for the smooth running of the office and efficient service delivery.
