TheCable

The Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a civil society organisation (CSO), has asked the federal and state governments to subsidise hajj fares to prevent Nigerian pilgrims from missing out on the 2024  pilgrimage.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Sunday announced an increase of N1.9 million to the hajj fare and gave four days duration for payment.

The commission had earlier approved N4.9 million as 2024 hajj fare.

With the N1.9 million increase, intending pilgrims who had already paid N4.9 million will now pay N6.8 million.

In a statement on Monday, Ibrahim Mohammed, IHR coordinator, said Nigeria may witness the lowest number of pilgrims performing hajj this year if urgent intervention is not provided.

Mohammed said the organisation had in the past months warned NAHCON of the implications of late registration.

He added that 90 percent of those who made the initial deposit may not be able to pay additional money in four days.

He said NAHCON was unable to meet the deadline given by the Saudi Arabia ministry of hajj for the remittance of funds because the commission was waiting for the federal government’s intervention.

“It has, therefore, become imperative for us to call on the state governors and the federal government to come in and provide immediate succour to the pilgrims by providing additional payments as a form of subsidy,” the statement reads.

“Currently, NAHCON is on the verge of missing out on the deadline of 29th April set by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to process visas for Nigerian registered pilgrims – there will be no hajj without a visa.”

He said the four-day deadline granted for the payment of additional fare is too short, adding that the Muslim pilgrim’s welfare boards across the states will need one week to pass the information round.

“Over 65 per cent of those who have registered for the 2024 hajj are farmers and it will take an additional one week for those who have the means to be able to raise the N1.9 million increase announced by NAHCON,” he said.

“If the pilgrims were able to pay the additional increase, then state muslims pilgrims boards will need a few days to transmit the collection to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the apex bank to begin the process of transferring the said sum to NAHCON’s International Bank Account Number (IBAN) in Saudi Arabia. It is only after this that payments can be made to Saudi-based service providers.

“With visa processing scheduled to close 35 days from now and the airlift of pilgrims billed to commence in 45 days, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should come to the rescue and provide the needed support without asking pilgrims to pay an additional increase for the 2024 hajj.

“Anything short of this will see Nigeria travelling to Hajj 2024 with less than 10,000 pilgrims out of the allocated 95,000 slots with a potential risk of Nigerian pilgrims missing out on 2024 Hajj.”