Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari, has doled out cash gift of 300 Saudi Arabian riyals, equivalent to N30,000, to each of the 3,086 pilgrims from the state currently in Saudi Arabia for Hajj.
Alhaji Muntari Lawal, Leader, Katsina state delegation (Amirul Hajj) for the 2019 Hajj made this known in Makkah on Friday when he briefed newsmen.
He said the cash donation was to support the pilgrims who were the first to be transported from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.
Lawal added that the donation was a tradition began by past administrations in the state aimed at making sure that none of the pilgrims becomes financially stranded while performing the religious obligations.
He commended the conduct of the state pilgrims in the Holy Land and called on them to put into practice, the lessons they acquired during the Hajj.
The state Amirul Hajj assured the pilgrims that arrangements had been concluded for their timely transportation back to Nigeria.
Hajiya Safiya Daura, one of the beneficiaries, commended the government for the gesture, stressing that the money would assist the pilgrims especially those who engaged in shopping spree.
Meanwhile, one of the pilgrims from the state, Sheikh Nasiru Adam, who died on Thursday following a brief illness, has been buried according to the Islamic rites in the Holy city of Makkah on Friday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two other pilgrims from the state had died in July and were also buried in Makkah.(NAN)