Pilgrimage: El Rufai’s ban on sponsorship affected only Christians – Sheikh Maraya

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El Rufai, sponsored pilgrims for Hajj but discontinued the sponsorship of Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem throughout his eight-year tenure, Sheikh Haliru Maraya has said.

El Rufai had banned the sponsorship of pilgrims in 2015, citing fiscal prudence and the need to manage Kaduna State’s debt profile.

Sheikh Haliru Maraya, a member of Kaduna State Special Hajj Committee, who made this known at a press briefing on Monday, pointed out that El Rufai’s ban was selectively applied.

‘’At face value, the policy appeared to apply uniformly to both Muslim and Christian pilgrims. However, subsequent developments revealed a divergence between policy pronouncement and policy implementation,’’ he said.Read Original/Read Complete.