The Gombe State Executive Council on Wednesday approved $481,000 for 969 intending 2025 pilgrims over inability to utilise Automated Teller Machines.
Briefing journalists at the council chamber shortly after the 46th meeting presided by Governor Muhammadu Yahaya, Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning Muhammad Magaji, said “We will use part of our US dollar deposit to pay the basic travelling allowances of our intending pilgrims.”
He explained the approval was geared towards reducing the burden of pilgrims, following their inabilities to operate the machines.
“Recall that the 2025 Hajj operations will begin very soon all intending pilgrims have paid the fees for umrah hajj which includes their basic travelling allowances.
“The approval obtained by the National Hajj Commission is to provide ATM cards to all intending pilgrims unfortunately, over 90 percent of our pilgrims here can’t use their ATMs council noted that travelling with ATM will be a humongous problem for them to be able to access their monies,” he added.
He continuing saying “The $500 that will be credited to the ATMs, the statement obliged to provide this $500 each to the 969 intending pilgrims, it amounts to 481,000 dollars which we have released to the Hajj Commission. The Pilgrim board has remitted back the N769 million that is the dollar equivalent.”
Speaking further Magaji disclosed that SEC okayed N334 million as compensation to property owners at Shehu Abubakar district and expressway along Police headquarters on Gombe/potiskum road, “Work is already ongoing and property owners have been paid,” he added.
Continuing he disclosed that SEC ratified the release of N5.2billion as 2024 UBEC counterpart funding payment and first quarter 2025, adding “subsequent second, third, and fourth quarters, 2025 payment should be paid when they are due with the sum of N5.03billion.”
He noted that the Muhammadu Buhari Park which started around 2021, which was supposed to have been completed in 2024 will gulp N24 billion, “but for unforseen circumstances. The governor has directed that the project must be completed before the end of this year and all fluctuations and augmentation requested by the contractors have all been approved and total cost of completion is N5.5 billion. This has been approved by exco and it will bring the total contract sum to N24 billion,” he stated.
On the Gombe regional water project annual operational maintenance contract, Magaji added, “it’s handled by the initial contractors that built the dam in 2007. For the 2025 annual maintenance is in the sum of N2.1 billion and it has been approved by exco.”
