The Commissioner for Home Affairs, AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef, at the 2018 ministerial press briefing to mark Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s third anniversary disclosed that the Lagos State Government has saved over N4.5 billion from the discontinued sponsorship of pilgrims to holy lands.
AbdulLateef stated that before the present administration, N1.5 billion was spent yearly on pilgrimages. He added that in the last three years that the state government had not sponsored pilgrims, it has cumulatively saved N4.5 billion.
According to the commissioner, when Ambode came in, he stopped it; the fund saved has helped the governor to provide social amenities like roads.
He further said the state government would not tolerate conversion of residential buildings into religious centers without government approval.
