A civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports Hajj activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, a has appealed to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON to instruct state Muslim pilgrims’ welfare boards, agencies and commissions to announce the start of registration of intending pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj.

This is even as it urged the state governors to reduce the administrative bureaucracy to allow States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards and agencies to execute pre-Hajj activities like the commencement of Hajj registrations, announcements of fare benchmarks, and transferring of deposit to NAHCON with little administrative channels, pointing out that “this major issue caused delays in the previous Hajj exercise.”

The organization, in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed and issued on Tuesday, said the call became imperative given the short time frames allocated to pre-Hajj activities in the newly released Hajj calendar by the world Hajj regulator – the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah

“Delayed registration affects late remittance by states and the behind-schedule remittance of pilgrims’ deposits by states will obstruct NAHCON’s ability to process and transfer the needed funds to Saudi Arabia service providers which will also have a negative influence on the Saudi-based service providers’ readiness to provide efficient and effective services to our dear pilgrims.

“NAHCON should set its sights on adhering to its hajj calendar to avoid conflicts with important pre-hajj activities. States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards are the centre of pre-Hajj activities in terms of registration of pilgrims, documentation, orientation, and conveyance of funding.

“With the commencement of contracts with service providers on service packages, and choice and reservation of spaces in Masha’er set to begin by the 23rd of October 2024, Nigeria has less than three months to project the number of pilgrims it will convey to the 2024 Hajj.

“More importantly, the issuance of visas is set to begin on 19th February, 2025 and end on 18th April, 2025. The remaining six months before the commencement of issuance of visa should be jealously utilized to avoid the late rush hour experienced last year,” IHR stressed.

It further advised that since the government might not grant concession on exchange rates next year, NAHCON should ask “states to announce initial deposits based on prevailing exchange rates with a pen-down agreement with financial institutions that deposits from pilgrims will be automatically converted to US dollars and receipted as such.”

Such a step, according to the organization would safeguard the deposit made by pilgrims from being devalued during Hajj transactions as experienced with their basic travelling allowance, BTA this year.