Niger State Governor, Umar Bago has called for the review of activities of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), as a result of the hitches pilgrims encountered, describing the 2024 Hajj exercise as a failure.
Bago who made the call in an interview in Saudi Arabia where he visited to assess this year’s Hajj operation expressed concern over the way NAHCON has turned itself into an operator of Hajj activities instead of being a regulatory body.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, the governor also faulted the 90 Billion naira subsidy paid by the Federal government for the Hajj operation, with some States including Niger paying billions of naira, calling on the National Assembly to probe the fund.
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According to him, he explained that it is ridiculous that pilgrims were given only $400 to take care of themselves for about 40 days despite the payment of 8 Million naira by each pilgrim.
He said the 90 Billion naira would have made more impact if shared with states, pointing out that the money is enough to run the Universal Basic Education budget for four years.
Bago suggested that Hajj operation should be private sector driven for effective and efficient service delivery and that he will lead a Committee of state Governors to meet relevant authorities for a review of the activities of NAHCON for smooth Hajj operation.
“Let the private sector drive Hajj operations, NAHCON should be a regulator at the centre. If NAHCON must exist, then they should strictly be a regulator. I am leading a committee of Governors to the NGF, from there we go to the NEC, I will propose this motion, and we will send a bill to the National Assembly where this issue of NAHCON would be reviewed”, he added.
“NAHCON is not helping matters. Our Federal Government is too big to be worried about Hajj operations, these are supposed to be Local Government issues and not even State issues. State Government should be able to organize pilgrimage and get Agents from the private sector who will do these things the best way as other Countries are doing it,” he further stated.
The Governor further suggested that the Hajj operation should not last beyond 2 weeks.
He therefore disclosed that the State recorded 6 deaths of pilgrims, two (2) were due to medical challenges while four (4) were as a result of heat wave.
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