Alhaji Adamu Timta, the Secretary of Borno Amirul Hajj committee on Monday appealed to the Federal Government to consider reopening the Maiduguri International Airport to allow for easy airlifting of pilgrims from the state.
Timta made the appeal in an interview with Journalists in Makkah.
He said that the closure of the Airport had brought untold challenges to the state, especially during the airlifting of pilgrims in Kano, and Jigawa to the Holy land.
He further explained that the transportation of pilgrims from Maiduguri to other states was very risky in view of the Bokko Haram insurgency.
Emphasizing on the re-opening of the airport to pilgrims, he said such was equally aimed at boosting socioeconomic activities that would greatly help the potentials of the state.
“Transporting 2645 people from Maiduguri to Dutse and kano is not an easy task even if you are using an aircraft.
“This means that we are going back to 1960’s where were airlifting our pilgrims from kano which is a big setback.
“We had to pray very hard against insurgents’ attack, especially while on the highways between Maiduguri to Damaturu.
“We also ensured proper arrangement with relevant security agencies to enable for hitch free movement of our pilgrims,”said Timta.
DailyPost recalls that the Maiduguri International Airport had been closed down for almost a year now and effort by the state government to ensure that it is reopened has so far failed.
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