Tag: Hajj

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has explained why it fixed different hajj fares for various states of the federation.

The Deputy Director, Information and Publication of NAHCON, Mousa Ubandawaki, made the clarification in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

He said for over two months, the commission had been working to ensure that the fare did not spiral out of the reach of average Nigerian Muslims, especially against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, bourgeoning inflation, and the depreciation of the naira against the dollar in the forex market.

He said that since the announcement of the final hajj fare for Nigerian pilgrims by the NAHCON boss, Zikrullah Hassan, a varied limited number of people have been asking questions about why the pilgrims from the states of the federation would have to pay different fares from the same country.

Thank goodness that the commission was able to keep the price below N3 million against all these odds.

” At the inception of the screening of airlines for this year’s Hajj, the commission, through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), was made aware that tickets for air travel, including the chartered flight that Hajj carriers charge, is influenced by the nautical mile the aircraft covers.

” It is the reason why the air ticket for Maiduguri and Yola departure is much lower than all the other Northern states as well as Southern Nigeria due to its proximity to Saudi Arabia.

He said that while pilgrims from those two airports spent less than four hours to Saudi Arabia, those from other regions of the North and Southern states spend five or more hours to the same destination.

According to him, the other reason is the price and location of accommodation in Makkah.

He said that it was a known fact that some States Pilgrims Welfare Boards, with their large contingent, needed a more expansive house or building to accommodate some of their pilgrims while some others may not need as much.

The deputy director stated that in sourcing for accommodation, the various states subscribed to accommodation that suited their needs and capacity.

He said that under the NAHCON’S Act and policy as a regulator, its job was to ensure that the states complied with the benchmark and the standard of accommodation was commensurate with the fare charged.

” This is to ensure compliance with the rule and philosophy, the commission was at the forefront of monitoring and supervising the negotiation process of the accommodation prices.

” More often than not, it rejected any price it considered skyrocketing, even when it has already been agreed upon by the state and the building owner.

” This is with the sole objective of making sure that the asking price is commensurate with the quality of the accommodation.

” Unfortunately, at this time, it is the sellers’ market, wherein demand is higher than the supply due to the ongoing urban redevelopment in Makkah which has seen so many buildings giving way to urban renewal.

” This is coupled with the lifting of the cap on allocation to all countries, thus, expanding the attendance from less than one million in 2022 to three million this year, thereby putting more pressure on the existing accommodation market.

Ubandawaki also said that the other reason why the fare was different from state to state had to do with the local charges by the different state pilgrims as administrative charges, uniforms and registration fees.

He explained that transportation shuttle for some state pilgrims who had to engage shuttle buses to transport their pilgrims to departure centres which more often than not were located in another state.

” These charges varied from state to state; for instance, pilgrims from Zamfara had to be transported to Sokoto for their flight. Same thing with Osun pilgrims who must be moved to Lagos for their transportation.

” As I stated earlier, the role of NAHCON in this is limited to fixing a cap on the amount that could be charged by states.

” Thus, while states charge as little as N10,000, some others charge as much as N20,000.

“It is these instances that were responsible for the different Hajj fare announced for each state. It has nothing to do with the political economy of the states.

Ubandawaki, who acknowledged the sacrifice made by prospective pilgrims to fulfill the religious obligation, promised that the commission would continue to do everything to ensure that pilgrims got value for money.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has restored 95,000 Hajj slots to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON),ahead of the 2023 Holy pilgrimage.

Assistant Director, Information and Publications, NAHCON, Mousa Ubandawaki, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

“The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has granted Nigeria its usual allocation of 95,000 slots in 2023 holy pilgrimage.

“The hopes of many prospective Nigeria pilgrims to perform the 2023 Hajj may have been answered as the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has approved the pre-COVID-19 allocation NAHCON.

“The good news was announced by Bahauddeen Alwani, the Director-General in charge of Hajj Missions at the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, during a preparatory meeting for hajj via a video conference with the Chairman of NAHCON, Malam Zukrullah Hassan.

“Other guidelines released for the 2023 Hajj by the Ministry included the removal of age barrier or limit and cancellation of PCR Test for the Hajj,” Ubandawaki said.

Similarly, he said that the Saudi Hajj Ministry had also granted the commission the right of choice of package for pilgrims’ services from the Mutawwiffs of African Non-Arab countries.

“In addition, the Ministry also stated that henceforth, any payment to service providers must be through the e-track or e-wallet platforms as the Kingdom will not take responsibilities for payment outside the two platforms,” he said.

In his response, the NAHCON’s Chairman, Hassan expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the early preparation and restoring of the country’s Hajj allocation.

He said that it was heartwarming that the Kingdom through the Ministry of Hajj has restored the hope and confidence of many prospective Nigerian pilgrims that desired to perform the Hajj this year.

He also thanked the Ministry for its consistent supports and cooperation in serving the guest of Allah.

The chairman, however, appealed to the Ministry to allow the commission to handle the feeding management during the Mashair activities.

This, according to him, will enable the commission to serve Nigeria’s pilgrims better than what obtained at the 2022 Hajj.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has reiterated readiness to refund Hajj fares of the 2022 Hajj pilgrims who were unable to perform the pilgrimage.

The Assistant Director, Public Affairs Unit of NAHCON, Mrs Fatima Usara, gave the assurance in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Usara explained that the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, had never minced words on the Commission’s readiness to refund pilgrims of 2022 Hajj who requested for it.

” Likewise, in response to several inquiries, NAHCON staff had on many platforms assured of the commission’s preparedness to make refunds as soon as reconciliation is concluded.

” Reconciliation follows a bureaucratic process, and I believe one would agree that it is better to get it right. In 2019, Hajj return journey ended on September 12, refunds were made 82 days later, in December.

” Also Hajj 2017 ended on October 2, out of the sum of N820,283,965, N181 million was paid to states’ pilgrims and their officials that could not travel for the pilgrimage in two batches.

” First batch to 11 states in December 2017 (over 60 days after Hajj), while 13 pilgrims’ boards and agencies received theirs in February 2018 after reconciliation, four months later. The later was made about 140 days after Hajj.”

She emphasised that NAHCON does not keep pilgrims’ money in an account the commission controls, adding that all Hajj fare components are distributed to the rightful hajj operators at due time from the commission’s Central Bank (CBN) account.

” Vis-à-vis to State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, air carriers, and Pilgrims Establishment in Saudi Arabia famously called Mu’assasa. Mu’assasa is also answerable to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

” After Hajj, the actual number of persons that performed the pilgrimage is confirmed, subsequently same operatives now each return funds of those who could not participate in the exercise into NAHCON’s CBN account.

” There may be refunds for services poorly rendered too which the commission receives from service providers through Mu’assasa.

” After all the components are returned from the various operatives, the states pilgrims boards that are ready follow up with their records for reconciliation and re-collection of the total amount. The boards are then charged with the responsibility of disbursing the funds to the owners.

” Of course, there is always room for improvement and the commission is not unmindful of that,” she said.

Usara disclosed that NAHCON had completely refunded Kano State Hajj Savings Scheme pilgrims by Oct. 11, because the State Pilgrims Welfare Board had since reconciled its HSS books.

She also said that the first batch of Kano refund was made on September 9, 2022, 33 days after completion of Hajj.

“Other state pilgrims’ welfare boards that have concluded their HSS reconciliation and are about to receive the refunds are Jigawa, Katsina, Federal Capital Territory, Bauchi, Kogi, Lagos, and Plateau states.

She said that NAHCON has not turned back any states that was ready for reconciliation, adding that the commission believes the states are not sitting idle either, some of them have indeed gone far in the reconciliation process.

Usara advise any advocacy group that was interested in protecting the welfare of pilgrims to consider following the right channels in comprehending any misconceptions it has about the Commission.

About 3,000 pilgrims missed the 2022 Hajj.