NASARAWA State governor Tanko Al-Makura has suspended all forms of government sponsorship for pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia as part of a clampdown on reckless government spending.

Governor Al-Makura, who is a close associate of President Muhammadu Buhari and an influential member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the first state executive to scrap government sponsorship of pilgrimages. Nigeria's spends about 1% of her national budget on the lesser Umrah pilgrimage, major Hajj and Christian visits to Jerusalem.

Since assuming office on May 29, President Buhari has promised to cut out waste in public spending and this latest move is in line with that. Already Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State stopped the giving away of foodstuffs during the Ramadan fasting period, claiming the state government could not afford it.

Alhaji Abubakar Hassan Nalaraba, the executive secretary of the Nasarawa State Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board, explained that the rationale behind the governor’s decision was to enable him solve the financial crunch the state is currently experiencing. He added, however, that the welfare board succeeded in retaining the accommodations allotted to pilgrims from the state in the holy land during the last pilgrimage as tents and other secured accommodations for were still in good shape.

Alhaji Nalaraba added: “The board has approved this year’s hajj fare at N790,500 (£2,540) per pilgrim which include forms, suitcases, medical screening, uniforms like hijabs and Arafat Day feeding expenses in order to compliment the National Hajj Commissions’ efforts.”

According to Alhaji Nalaraba, the high exchange rate of dollars to the naira also took a toll on this year’s fares rate leading to a variation from last year’s hajj fare of N715,000 (£2,300). He also stated that there was a slight drop on the number of intending pilgrims this year standing at 1,682 from last year’s figure of 1,785 pilgrims.