- Nigeria retains its 95,000 allocations for the 2024 Hajj, as announced by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah
- NAHCON aims to finalize service arrangements and negotiations within 120 days and ensure proactive cooperation with Saudi authorities
Nigeria has kept the 95,000 allocations it received during the previous pilgrimage for the 2024 Hajj. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced the allocation yesterday during a Zoom meeting with the leadership of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Hajj, Hon Jafar Mohammed, representatives of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, and the Nigerian Consul-General in Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Bello Abdulkadir, attended the meeting, which officially marked the start of the 2024 Hajj.
In a press statement issued after the meeting, NAHCON’s deputy director of information and publications, Alhaji Mousa Ubandawaki, stated that Nigeria expects to finalize all arrangements and negotiations with service providers, including catering, accommodation, and transportation, within the next 120 days.
Ubandawaki added that NAHCON will, among other things, submit lists of medical and other officials to Saudi authorities as soon as possible because the Kingdom intends to work closely with the two bodies.
According to him, the commission was also urged to ensure that only air carriers with at least two aircraft and a backup plan are appointed or permitted to participate in the 2024 Hajj operation.
Dr. Badr Mohammed Al-Somi, who leads the Saudi team, urged the commission to strive to meet the timeline so that the Kingdom can make adequate plans and avoid the experiences and incidents witnessed during this year’s Hajj.
“We want all Hajj Missions to be proactive in meeting our time frame so that we don’t repeat what happened before and also to give the missions enough time to inspect the services before pilgrims arrive,” he said.
He promised that the refund sought by NAHCON was being worked on and that it would be acted upon as soon as the results of its investigative committee were released.
Earlier in his speech, NAHCON chairman Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan urged Saudi authorities to expedite action on the refund of the feeding and tent services that were not provided during the Mashair.
He also emphasized the importance of the Kingdom withdrawing from feeding services in the Masha’ir and allowing the country to take over Muna and Arafat to allow pilgrims to enjoy the delicacies they were accustomed to at home.
Hassan also sought the Saudi Ministry of Hajj’s support and assistance in obtaining the refund paid to the General Authority on Saudi Aviation (GACA) on behalf of Nigerian Carriers in 2019. He urged the ministry to reconsider its decision by allowing Nigerian pilgrims to depart through the King Abdul-Aziz International Airport Jeddah rather than Madina, which would create bottlenecks and logistical problems for the pilgrims.