The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims who participated in the 2023 hajj will receive a refund of 150 Saudi Riyals (N67,500) each for poor services during the pilgrimage.
In a statement on Tuesday, the commission’s spokesperson, Fatima Usara said the announcement was made during a meeting held on Monday.
In attendance at the meeting were commission and Private Tour Operators (PTOs) in Nigeria.
Usara noted that the meeting was held to brief the PTOs on resolutions reached following the assumption of office by Abdullahi Saleh as acting chairman of NAHCON.
She added that pilgrims will not receive any concessionary exchange rate from the government for the 2025 hajj fare.
Usara stated that; “NAHCON’s Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofi Olanrewaju Elegushi, chaired the virtual meeting with the PTOs, where he relayed new developments from both Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MoHU) and NAHCON’s decisions resulting from the second EXCO meeting with the new head of the commission,”
However, Olarewaju informed them that all 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims who travelled for Hajj in 2023 from both states and private operators are to receive SR150 each (one hundred and fifty Saudi Riyals) as a refund. According to him, NAHCON has already begun making arrangements to disburse the payments.
He also mentioned that the commission is still awaiting further details on the 2022 refund, revealing that refund details have emerged only for PTOs that camped on Field Office 18 in 2022 and that they are to collectively receive SR62,602 (sixty-two thousand, six hundred and two Saudi Riyals) as refund for poor feeding in the Masha’ir.
He further disclosed that the number of lead companies for the 2025 Hajj had been reduced from 20 to 10 by MoHU, with each company required to register a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims for Hajj visa approval.
In addition, Elegushi announced that NAHCON’s Executive Council had approved the use of bank guarantees in place of the N40 million caution deposit for the 2025 Hajj. Any operator who prefers this option and has already paid the deposit in cash is allowed to request a refund to submit the bank guarantee instead.
He also emphasised that the deadline for registration has been extended to 11:59 pm on Friday, 11 October, to accommodate both cash and bank guarantee deposits. And also advised that those opting for the bank guarantee can issue a bank draft while awaiting the bank guarantee, which may be presented even after the registration deadline.
“Elegushi further highlighted that in 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.
In response to allegations that NAHCON owed PTOs N17bn from the 2024 Hajj caution deposit, Elegushi clarified that the commission had received N2.75bn from 110 registered companies for the 2024 Hajj, including N1.25bn rolled over from the previous year.
“He added that N750m had been refunded to 30 companies, with the remaining N750m held by the commission pending requests from undecided PTOs.
However, Elegushi informed them that a delegation of NAHCON officers and selected PTO members will visit Saudi Arabia to resolve issues of trapped IBAN deposits, pending refunds, and the limited issuance of Umrah visas.