The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has stated that there will be no concessionary rates or government subsidies provided for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
NAHCON’s Commissioner for Operations, Anofi Elegushi, made the disclosure on Tuesday, following a virtual meeting with Private Tour Operators.
The PUNCH reports that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has given a statutory 95,000 pilgrims allocation to Nigeria, with each pilgrim expected to pay at least $6000 to cover costs of transportation, accomodation and feeding, during the period of the Hajj exercise.
With the exchange market closing at N1,653/$1 as of Tuesday, each intending pilgrim will pay no less than N9.9m for the 2025 pilgrimage, although certain states across the country have pegged initial fare deposits at N8.4m.
A statement on Tuesday by NAHCON’s spokesperson, Fatima Usara, confirmed that there would be no concessionary rates for pilgrims registered under the States Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards or through the operators.
“It was confirmed that for the 2025 Hajj, there will be no concessionary exchange rate from the government for Hajj fare payment for pilgrims, whether under state or private Hajj operators,” the statement read.
This means that at the current exchange rate of over N1,600/$1, pilgrims who are usually required to pay at least $6,000 each may pay up to N10m for the 2025 exercise.
The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government had offered a subsidy of N90bn to NAHCON to support the 2024 Hajj pilgrims.
While NAHCON has yet to fix deposit fares for the 2025 Hajj, some states, including the Federal Capital Territory, have announced initial deposits of N8.4 million for intending pilgrims.
Addressing other issues of contention with the Private Tour Operators, Elegushi stated that instead of 20 private companies spearheading the conduct of the exercise, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has reduced the number to only 10, with a stipulation to register a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims to be considered for visa approval.
He added that all pilgrims who traveled for the 2023 Hajj would receive a refund of 150 Saudi Riyals, noting, however, that NAHCON is still awaiting information on the refund of the 2022 Hajj, except for PTOs that camped at Field Office 18 in 2022.
“All 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims that traveled for Hajj in 2023 from both states and private operators are to receive SR150 each as a refund. He disclosed that NAHCON has already started working towards making the payments.
“As for the 2022 refund, the commission is still awaiting further details. However, Prince Elegushi revealed that refund details have emerged only for PTOs that camped at Field Office 18 in 2022. They are to collectively receive SR62,602 as a refund for poor feeding in the Masha’ir,” the statement added.
The commissioner also clarified that, contrary to claims that NAHCON owes PTOs N17bn from the 2024 Hajj caution deposit of N25m, the commission received only N2bn and N750m from 110 companies that registered for the 2024 Hajj.
He said the amount included a rollover of N1 billion and N250m from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, on Tuesday, officially announced N8.4m as the 2025 Hajj deposit for intending pilgrims from the state.
According to the Director General of the board, Alhaji Lamin Rabi’u Danbappa, the N8.4m deposit was based on NAHCON’s directive.
“The board will commence the collection of deposits through bank drafts submitted via Local Government Hajj Center Officers,” Danbappa said.
He advised intending pilgrims to ensure timely payments according to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s schedule for the 2025 Hajj.
“To complete the registration process, intending pilgrims are required to submit eight passport-sized photographs, a valid passport, and have a personal bank account for proper identification. This will facilitate a smooth and successful registration process,” he said.
He disclosed that NAHCON had allocated 4,356 Hajj seats to Kano State, which will be distributed across all 44 local governments.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Yusif Lawan, urged Local Government Hajj Centre Officers to work diligently to secure and manage the allocated seats. (Punch)
