NAHCON: 34,647 Nigerians now in Makkah | Pilgrims must get full value for hajj payments

Alidu Shutti, deputy coordinator of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Makkah, says the commission is strictly monitoring service delivery to ensure Nigerian pilgrims get all they were promised.

Speaking with journalists in Makkah on Monday, Shutti said 34,647 Nigerian pilgrims had so far arrived in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, adding that more were still arriving.

Shutti, who also serves as the director of inspectorate and compliance, said NAHCON officials are actively checking accommodation, transportation, and other service benchmarks agreed with providers.

“I want to use this opportunity to inform you that so far so good; we have received 34,647 as of yesterday (Sunday),” he said.

“But as I’m talking to you now, some pilgrims have been ushered into their accommodation in Makkah, and we want to inform you that we are on course.

“We are fully prepared to assist the guests of Allah so that they will have hajj mabur.”

Shutti said NAHCON has deployed staff from both the inspectorate and compliance, and the monitoring and evaluation units to oversee service delivery.

“We have those who are monitoring the services from the commission,” he said.

“We have people from inspectorate and compliance — they are to monitor whether they are providing the services they have promised to provide.

“We also have people from monitoring and evaluation. They are to monitor and evaluate the type of services being given to the pilgrims.”

According to him, the oversight is designed to guarantee that the fees paid by the pilgrims are justified by the quality of services rendered.

“The mission before us is to provide efficient and effective services to the guests of Allah,” he said.

“It is also to ensure that the money paid by the pilgrims is used for the services and that the services are duly provided, as captured in the agreement entered with the service provider.”

Shutti said regular meetings are being held with Saudi Arabian authorities to fine-tune operational logistics.

“Even at the level of deputy minister in the Ministry of Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we have been having these update meetings,” he said.

“And during the meeting, we reviewed the level of our operations, what we have been doing, and what is to be done. It is just to make sure that all i’s are dotted and all t’s are crossed toward the success of the Hajj operations.”

He also commended Nigeria’s missions in Saudi Arabia for their consular support.

“We want to appreciate our chief host in the kingdom, I mean the two missions – the Nigerian embassy in Riyadh and the Nigerian consulate-general in Jeddah,” he said.

“They have been so fantastic and helpful. They have been giving the commission the necessary consular backup toward the success of the hajj.”

Shutti praised the commission’s officials for their teamwork and round-the-clock dedication to the welfare of pilgrims.

He added that the focus remains delivering a transparent, seamless Hajj that upholds NAHCON’s responsibility to every pilgrim.