Governor Abdullahi Sule has personally paid for the shutting of the over 1000 pilgrims from Nasarawa State presently in Saudi Arabia for this year’s holy pilgrimage.

According to reliable sources, Governor Sule paid 5Rs each, amounting to about N2500 for all the pilgrims who are slated to embark on visitations to holy sites as part of their pilgrimage.

An impeccable source with privy knowledge of the transaction, disclosed on Monday that, the gesture by the Governor prevented misunderstandings about refusal to return excess money paid by the pilgrims who feel shortchanged when bus officials say there is no sufficient change to return to pilgrims who may have issued USD100 in anticipation for change.

The bus shuttle usually cost about 5Rs per pilgrim.

However, pilgrims from Nasarawa State usually pay in dollars, with the bus officials unable to return their change.

“Before, the people refused to pay the money by themselves because we used to get a lot of complaints that the buses don’t use to give them change correctly because of the 5Rs which amounts to N2500. A pilgrim will give a conductor USD100 or something of that nature and even after the visitation they don’t bring them back to their hotel. Instead, they take them to somewhere else,” the source said.

The source who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that, in order to forestall any happenstance, Governor Sule saw it fit to personally pay the shuttle fare for all the pilgrims.