Reports of poor breakfast being served to Nigerian pilgrims in Makkah have been refuted by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
A statement released on Tuesday by NAHCON’s Assistant Director of Public Affairs, Hajiya Fatima Sanda Usara, and provided to Africa Health Report (AHR) addressed the claim, stressing the importance of thorough investigation before using a story sourced from Facebook in journalism.
The Commission emphasized that multiple testimonies from pilgrims on the ground in Makkah, accompanied by pictorial evidence, disproved Digima’s claims.
NAHCON staff also described the actual meals provided, proving the circulated picture was doctored and the news was fake.
“Unfortunately, newsmen ignored the responses and the free facts supplied on the page in preference for the sensational side.
The medium simply amplified a lie it picked on Facebook with the doctored picture of today’s breakfast served to pilgrims of FCT in their hotel in Makkah, Nama Al-Asriya Hotel and spread it as news,” NAHCON stated.
NAHCON urged the public to disregard the false news about the FCT pilgrims’ breakfast, calling the story both false and malicious.
The Commission also assured that pilgrims’ Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) would be received as promised.
“As at 24th April 2024 when NAHCON paid BTA differential for the pilgrims, the dollar exchange rate was N1,252 to a dollar thereby N626,000 was paid to be exchanged at the value of $500. This is the figure that the Hajj stakeholders had agreed upon and which NAHCON declared and still stands by,” the statement explained.
