Shortly before the commencement of Haj operations, many pilgrims were eager to know who would be appointed Board members to this year’s hajj. Before then, a lot of lobbying had been going on and carried out by Lagosians, who believe that they would be considered and that without the Board, it would be impossible for Amirul Haj alone to do the job with the civil servants.
This was because since the creation of the Board, there was no time that haj air-lifting was done without Board members supervising them. However, Abdullateef, the Amirul Haj, disappointed the pessimists when he performed extremely well without Board members and with the support of key Board officials.
Again, Amirul Haj, during a lecture in Muna, threw a bomb shell to clear all the rumours that he was responsible for the Governor not appointing Board members. According to him, the Governor actually wanted to announce the Board members on three occasions but in his wisdom, he asked him to hold on. He had to respect the office of the Governor because he knows that there were pressures from different quarters and many people were gearing up to become Board members.
So, the Governor was careful to ensure that those who are competent and committed to do the job were appointed. Amirul Haj said he was very confident that before the end of this year, he would announce the Board members because he has appointed the Christian Board members, who are today enhancing the running of the Board.
In his words, “I am very optimistic that the Board would soon be constituted. For those pointing accusing fingers at me over the non-existence of the Board, I would like to say that I am not the Governor. It is only the Governor that can constitute the Board.”
“Anybody who says it is Abdullateef that does not want the Board to be constituted. Such a person is assuming that Abdullateef appointed himself as the Commissioner and Amirul Haj.”
Despite the non-existence of the Board, there is no doubt that Abdullateef earned praises from pilgrims for giving them stress-free and successful Haj.