Travel News

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has revealed that a portion of the N90 billion subsidy allocated for the 2024 Hajj operation has been returned to the Federal Government.

The commission, however, did not disclose the exact amount returned to the government.

NAHCON’s Commissioner of Operations, Olarewaju Elegusi, disclosed this on Wednesday while appearing before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating NAHCON and the FCT Muslim Pilgrims Board over the 2024 Hajj exercise.

According to Elegusi, the returned funds were part of the subsidy paid to the commission to facilitate the Hajj exercise.

The NAHCON commissioner, however, failed to properly account for how the N90 billion subsidy was spent.

Elegusi said he was aware that a subsidy was paid but was unable to tell the lawmakers how the money was disbursed.

Queried by the Chairman of the Committee, Sada Soli, Elegusi said: “I am aware of the subsidy of N90bn by the Federal Government. I did not see the document until the former chairman addressed a press conference and stated how it was disbursed. The money was paid in Naira through the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

The NAHCON commissioner said some part of the subsidy was remitted back to the Federal Government through the CBN.

He promised to furnish the committee with the required documents at the next sitting.

Speaking, Vice President of the Kano branch of the Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON), Haruna Ismail, advised that Hajj operations in the country should be managed by the private sector.

He urged the Federal Government to be proactive in putting the right measures and laws in place to drive this process.

Ismail recommended that NAHCON should be limited to regulatory and supervisory duties only.

According to him, the future of Hajj is in the hands of private operators in Nigeria, insisting that AHUON was ready to provide expertise and support for the required legislative process.

“We recommend the committee visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to verify some of our submissions and interact with some of the active players in the provision of services to Nigerian pilgrims.

“The committee should look at developing a standard operational practice for all operators in the Hajj management chain. This will act as a model upon which future Hajj reforms shall be based.

“The need for a joint committee of all players in Hajj management in the country is long overdue to constantly review Hajj processes, reports, and complaints.

“As we gear up to full private operator control, we suggest this committee recommend a regime where the share of the slots should be increased gradually by 10,000 slots annually, thereby building the capacity to take over the operation,” he said.

Also, the Managing Director of Comerel Travels, Abubakar Siddeeq, said that the management of Hajj must revolve around qualified individuals who thoroughly understand the complexities of Hajj operations.

He said that the problem of Hajj in Nigeria has been a “vile” system that has been changing its name repeatedly.

According to him, no Hajj operation will succeed in Nigeria with such an entity being the service provider for Nigerian pilgrims.

Siddeeq said that Section 3 of the NAHCON Establishment Act should include representatives of tour operators and state welfare pilgrim boards and agencies on the NAHCON board.

He said: “NAHCON has no single pilgrim in Nigeria. I am saying that tour operators and the state pilgrims welfare boards are the owners of the pilgrims.

“The problems in Hajj operations will continue since the owners of the pilgrims are excluded from the board of NAHCON.

“This Act that we are working on and discussing lacks a clear definition of private tour operators, and the terms ‘agency’ and ‘agencies’ are not enough.

“Priority should be given to the implementation of the existing Act, because there is nothing wrong with it, only the amendment that we are discussing. Now, it is a fine document but has not been allowed to work properly.

“NAHCON should rather enhance its regulatory oversight by implementing effective regulations and enforcement mechanisms. It has nothing to do with being a party in the operation.

“NAHCON should not determine Hajj fares for states. Why will NAHCON licence private tour operators and licence states’ pilgrims boards, produce a template for the Hajj fare for them, and announce it?”