Buhari off to Mecca Today

President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja for Saudi Arabia to perform the lesser hajj (pilgrimage) today, Thursday, May 16, 2019.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, says Buhari will be accompanied by close personal aides on the trip.

The President is scheduled to return home on Tuesday, May 21.

Although Shehu said the trip was at the “invitation of King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, the ruler of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the two Holy Mosques to perform the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage) in the Kingdom,” he did not say if there would be any bilateral talk between the two leaders during the trip.

Umrah is an optional but recommended pilgrimage to Makkah that can be made at any time of the year.