Nigeria: Non Refund of Pilgrims Deposit - Panel Demands Explaination
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Daily Champion (Lagos)
8 October 2008
Posted to the web 8 October 2008
Raymond Gukas
Jos
The commission of inquiry instituted by the Plateau State government to investigate the activities of the State Muslim Pilgrims Board has demanded an explanation on why some 54 muslims who failed to perform the 2006/2007 pilgrimage were yet to be refunded their money.
The commission's chairman,Justice Morounkeji Onalaja while handing down the directive also summoned the former executive secretary of the state Muslim Board,Alhaji Sale Bayari to appear before the commission to testify on the matter.
The victims, Daily Champion gathered, allegedly sponsored themselves for the failed trip to Saudi Arabia
The demand for explanation came following a testimony to the commission by the current executive secretary of the state Muslim Pilgrims Board, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi Dashe that the money paid for the botched journey was yet to be refunded to the victims.
According to the scribe, the board's director of finance, Alhaji Shehu Pasakai confirmed to him that some of the pilgrims were yet to be refunded their transport fares even after being denied the opportunity to perform the Hajj.
The commission which is investigating the board's activities from May, 1999 to June, 2007 was told that the state within the period sponsored about 1,900 pilgrims with over N800m.
However, the Christian pilgrims' welfare board spent over N872m under the same period on over 3000 pilgrims,even as 64 persons who failed to travel for the exercise had since been refunded their money.
Meanwhile, the commission has fixed October, 15, 2008 to hear to the defenses of some contractors engaged by the state board of internal revenue which is alleged to have received over N8bn as internally generated revenue for the period.
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It would be recalled that the acting chairman of the board, Mrs. Ladi Ivenya last week disclosed that government can only account for N4,274,674,288.46 as amount in the records of the board because, about to 40 percent of the money was not remitted to the "consolidated revenue account of the state."
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