The House of Representatives has adopted the report of its ad-hoc committee investigating the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the FCT Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, following complaints of poor treatment of Nigerian pilgrims during the 2024 Hajj.
This followed the consideration of the report presented by the chairman of the committee, Sada Soli, during Thursday’s plenary session.
The committee was constituted in 2024 to probe NAHCON’s performance during last year pilgrimage exercise.
A key resolution of the House is the establishment of a Hajj Tribunal to handle contract breaches, financial disputes, and service failures involving NAHCON, tour operators, and pilgrims.
The lawmakers also directed the Auditor General of the Federation to conduct a comprehensive audit of NAHCON’s N90 billion federal subsidy.
The House also mandated NAHCON to publish a detailed breakdown of all Hajj charges and ensure that all pilgrims pay a uniform and justified fee.
The lawmakers called for an increase in the $500 Personal Travel Allowance (PTA) to better support pilgrims’ financial needs during the pilgrimage.
While expressing concern over the accommodation provided to Nigerian pilgrims, the lawmakers directed NAHCON to decentralize accommodation management by allowing state pilgrims’ welfare boards and private tour operators to negotiate lodging costs. Other measures include:
The House further approved strict penalties for poor-performing service providers and directed NAHCON to establish a Pilgrims’ Complaints and Resolution Unit to handle grievances related to accommodation, feeding, transportation, and other services.
To ensure fairness in the issuance of Hajj visas, the House instructed NAHCON to implement a transparent visa distribution system to allow tour operators to receive allocations based on the number of pilgrims they manage.
“That the House of Representatives amends the NAHCON Act to (i) separate its regulatory and operational functions, ensuring that it focuses solely on oversight and policy enforcement while allowing stakeholders to handle service delivery and create a Hajj Tribunal to handle complaints related to financial disputes, contract breaches, and service failures involving NAHCON, tour operators and Pilgrims,” it said.
“That the Executive branch carries out a review and renegotiation of the questionable Bilateral Air Agreement that allows Saudi-owned airlines to airlift 50% of Nigerian pilgrims to the detriment of domestic airlines who have consistently shown capacity in pilgrims airlift.”
