Alhaji AbdulAzeez Ibrahim, the Manager, Ilorin International Airport, said on Saturday that 1,774 intending pilgrims had so far been transported to Saudi Arabia from Kwara zone.
Ibrahim made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin just before the departure of another batch of 560 intending pilgrims.
According to him, the 560 pilgrims are the fourth batch to depart for Saudi Arabia from the zone.
He said that the first batch comprised 460 pilgrims while the second and third batches consisted of 215 and 539 pilgrims respectively.
The manager said that the airport authority had made proper arrangement for a successful transportation of all the pilgrims from Kwara, Ondo and Ekiti states from the airport.
“The fourth batch of 560 intending pilgrims from Kwara left the airport at about 10.40am on Saturday.
“About 3000 pilgrims from Kwara, Ondo and Ekiti states are expected to be transported from the Ilorin International Airport for the 2017 Holy pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia in eight batches,’’ Ibrahim said. (NAN)