Hajj: FCT Officials Inspect Kitchen of Food Vendors
By Hudu Yakubu, Makkah
In an effort to ensure strict adherence to contractual agreement, the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, MPWB, feeding subcommittee of 2024 Hajj exercise has inspected the services of the food vendors contracted to supply daily mills for the FCT pilgrims in Makkah.
The visit was also aimed at strengthening monitoring and supervision of the services towards protecting the interest of the FCT pilgrims contingents in the Holy Land of kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Interacting with management of the contracting company, the Director of the FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Abubakar Adamu Evuti while expressing satisfaction with the quality of the services being provided, urged them to sustain the spirit.
The Director used the opportunity to present few observations raised by the pilgrims regarding the tests and aroma of the food.
Evuti then assured the Pilgrims that the Board will continue to ensure that proper things are done to ensure that Pilgrims are offer good and acceptable mills in line with the standard agreed upon.
According to him” Alhamdulillah, we came to see kitchen for ourselves where the food for FCT pilgrims are been prepared and packaged. Our intentions of coming here to see things for ourselves, the food given to our pilgrims interm of quality and quantity is satisfiable to what was agreed upon with the cooks. Not only about the quality and quantity but also to ensure the menu which we have provided for them are strictly adhere to, because these are Nigerians who are in another country different from here and we want to eat the foods at least the one they know and one they’re familiar with ann hitherto before now we have been provided with the menu and that menu has been strictly adhere to”.
He added that, ” from the onset we have some little challenges, these challenges was not because these items are not available, they are available but the only challenge was on how to package them.
But our staff are also involved in packaging these foods foods for the pilgrims. We have a team that os coming here daily from the office of the FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board to come and assist them in packaging and putting these foods together”, he noted.
The Director insisted that the team were there essentially to see things for themselves and ensure that everything is done according to the menu that was given to the caterers.
While assuring the Pilgrims and Nigerians that going forward and upto the time the pilgrims will be going back to Nigeria, the quantity and quality of foods that will be providing for the pilgrims will be of high standard, he informed the Pilgrims that if they notice any challenge, they should bring them to the notice of their caterers and improvement will be done.
Evuti who was elated with how the foods are been prepared and the hygiene nature of the Kitchen revealed that there’s a lot of contradiction form what they have seen on ground and the earlier social media post on the said feedings process and how it’s been prepared.
Earlier, the Head of Unit, Pilgrims Welfare Services of the FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hajiya Zainab Mohammed who is heading the Kitchen For Catering service in Mecca expressed commitment to adhere to the specification in line with menu given to the caterers.
“:We normally come to this kitchen regularly especially, the days they will cook our local foods, we make sure that we will here as early as possible so we will be with them to guide them some time we are even part of the cooks, we participate so that we make sure that we get quality of foods we are going to give to our pilgrims especially the days that we going to cook tuwo shinkafa, tuwo semo which is a new thing to them”, Hajiya Mohammed explained..
She read the Menu to includes the following, ” in our Menu, we have tuwo semo once in a week, tuwo shinkafa with miya taushe once in a week, we have jellof rice, fried rice Indian rice, then we also have rice and beans. Before we have tuwo two times in a week but now we have changed it to one a week that is rice and beans with soup, then we have white rice with spices with either meat, fish or beef and fresh fruits “.
Earlier, the Chief Caterers, Mr Mustapha Musa thereafter commended Director of the FCT Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board and his team for intensifying supervision to ensure quality service is delivered.
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