The Chairman of the Northern Christian Association (NCA), Rev. Joseph John Hayab, says Christian leaders in Kaduna State were aware of the suspension of government sponsorship for Christian pilgrimages during the administration of former governor Nasir El-Rufai, and that the issue was raised publicly at the time.
Hayab made the remarks in an interview in Kaduna, where he spoke about claims that government support for Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem was halted during the period while Muslim pilgrimage activities continued under different arrangements. According to him, Christian leaders and organisations, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) at the time, expressed concerns about the development and questioned aspects of the policy.
“We were aware of the issue and we spoke about it then,” Hayab said, adding that debates around the policy were reported in the media during that period. He also said he could vouch for the character of Islamic cleric Sheikh Haliru Maraya, who recently spoke publicly about the policy and alleged that it was applied differently to Muslim and Christian pilgrimages.
Maraya had earlier stated that although the Kaduna State Government announced a general ban on pilgrimage sponsorship in 2015, some Muslim pilgrims travelled under official or sub-official classifications during the same period. The claims have not been independently verified.
The cleric welcomed the decision by the current governor, Uba Sani, to restore government sponsorship for Christian pilgrimage, describing it as a step toward fairness and balance in a religiously diverse state. Former governor El-Rufai has previously said the policy on pilgrimage sponsorship was introduced as part of efforts to manage the state’s finances.
