Nigerian Pilgrims May Miss 2025 Hajj Over NAHCON’s Decision – Pilgrims Boards
The Forum of Chief Executive Officers of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Agencies, and Commissions has raised concerns that thousands of Nigerian intending pilgrims may be unable to perform the 2025 Hajj due to the cancellation of the Masha’ir contract by the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman.
Speaking on behalf of the forum, its Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Adamawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Abubakar Salihu, warned that the cancellation of the contract signed with Saudi service provider Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah could result in Nigerian pilgrims being denied visas for the 2025 Hajj.
“If Nigerian intending pilgrims miss out on the 2025 Hajj, they should hold the NAHCON chairman responsible. The state pilgrims boards should not be blamed,” Salihu declared.
According to him, the decision to cancel the contract was made unilaterally by the NAHCON chairman via an electronic portal, despite the forum’s extensive deliberations and agreement on the service provider.
He explained that between January 15 and 17, the forum and NAHCON executives had selected Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah to serve state quota pilgrims in Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah, while Rawaf Mina was chosen to cater to VIP pilgrims. Following this, NAHCON signed the contract and authorized the service provider to proceed.
“It is shocking to wake up and realize that the Hajj commission chairman has arbitrarily cancelled contracts that we painstakingly worked on and approved. This is unacceptable,” Salihu lamented.
He further noted that Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah had already integrated the contract into various Saudi Arabian Hajj agency platforms, including NUSUK and E-Tract. However, with the abrupt cancellation, Nigerian pilgrims may lose access to visa processing on the Saudi E-Tract platform.
The forum also criticized NAHCON’s alleged preferential treatment of private tour operators, who handle less than 20% of Nigerian pilgrims, while state boards, responsible for over 80% of the 95,000 pilgrims, were denied the right to choose their service provider.
“The implication of this action is that our pilgrims can no longer access their visas through the E-Tract uploaded by Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah. Even if NAHCON engages a new service provider now, they won’t be able to access the platform,” Salihu warned.
He revealed that Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah is expected to seek arbitration for the contract violation, which could further jeopardize Nigeria’s participation in the 2025 Hajj.
The forum emphasized that Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah was selected based on cost and service quality after a rigorous three-day review process. It rejected Ithraa Al Khair, a service provider accused of shortchanging Nigerian pilgrims and delivering substandard services in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
“Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah is a veteran service provider whose chairman and team provided excellent services to Nigerian pilgrims between 2015 and 2019. Their selection also secured a $200 reduction in Hajj fares per pilgrim,” Salihu added.
He stressed that NAHCON was expected to remit payments upon uploading funds to its portal, and with about 50,000 Nigerian pilgrims registered under the state quota and thousands more under private tour operators, the contract’s cancellation puts their pilgrimage at risk.
Meanwhile, another senior official within the commission, who spoke confidentially, disclosed that petitions have been submitted to investigative agencies regarding the contract’s cancellation. He called on the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to intervene and prevent a diplomatic and legal crisis similar to the P&ID and Mambilla/Sunrise disputes.
When contacted, NAHCON’s spokesperson, Fatima Sanda Usara, declined to comment, stating that she had not yet been briefed on the issue.
