Hajj: Obaseki charges Edo Pilgrims to be good ambassadors

The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday charged the state delegation to the 2017 Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to be good ambassadors of the state.Obaseki who gave the charge during a visit to the 260 intending pilgrims at the Hajj Camp on Dumez Road, Benin City, said: “The exercise you are about to embark on is a holy one, and one of the pillars of the Islamic religion.

Don’t joke with it. You are courageous, upright, honest citizens of the state and I know you will demonstrate all these qualities in the ‘Holy Land’.”He maintained that he was ready to partner with people that gather in the name of God because of what God has done in his life and added that his presence at the Hajj Camp was to make sure the pilgrims were comfortable and bid them farewell to the ‘Holy Land’.Obaseki however disclosed that the late inauguration of the State Muslim Welfare Board was due to the efforts of some people to politicise the selection of the members.He stressed that “the work of God is not about politics, as every politician wants to be on the State Muslim Welfare Board.

I wonder if the board is for politics or the work of God. If Allah calls you to serve him, serve him with a true heart and a sincere mind, not to manipulate a religious process. The interference in the process delayed the setting up of the Board.” he concluded.The Chairman of the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Ibrahim Oyarekhua, said the governor’s visit to the intending pilgrims at the Hajj Camp ahead of their departure, was the first of its kind and a demonstration of the governor’s humility.He appealed to the governor to provide the board with an official vehicle and a befitting Hajj Camp at the board’s office in the state capital.