Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Hadeija, have criticised the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON, for its constant involvement in financial impropriety, saying such should not be associated with a religious institution.
NAHCON was recently embroiled in some financial irregularities, a development that culminated in the sack of its chief executive, Jalal Arabi, by the presidency.
Gbajiabiamila, while lamenting the situation, said reforms within NAHCON have become inevitable to address the issues of financial mismanagement, negligence, maltreatment of pilgrims and late preparation for the pilgrimage exercises.
The presidency officials made these remarks during a fact-finding visit to NAHCON headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday as part of their engagement with government agencies under the supervision of the State House.
Earlier in the day, they also visited the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, where Gbajabiamila highlighted the potential role of states in providing funding to the agency through an insurance scheme or other means.
Addressing the challenges at NAHCON, Gbajabiamila stated: “This is a commission that should not be found in any controversy, simply because of its mandate and what it represents.
“It’s a religious commission. It’s a commission that is set up to fulfil religious and spiritual obligations for men and women of faith.
“So we are always surprised, even from the time when I was a Speaker when issues that should never come up arise in relation to this commission.
”Pilgrims travel every year to fulfil an Islamic religious obligation. Not only that, when they’re there, they’re there as ambassadors of Nigeria.
“As ambassadors of Nigeria, it is expected that they will carry the emblem and the flag of Nigeria on their full chest to represent and to show both in demeanour and conduct who and what we are.
“But many times, our pilgrims and fellow Nigerians face maltreatment or lack of proper organisation from this commission, and they end up sometimes not conducting themselves the way they should.
”The buck stops at the table of the Commission and you must accept responsibility for what goes on here and in Saudi Arabia when Nigerian pilgrims are there.”
Regarding the recent controversy in the Commission that led to the appointment of a new executive chairman, Gbajabiamila urged the management staff to work closely with the Office of the Vice President, which oversees the agency, to identify past mistakes, make corrections and ensure seamless operations for pilgrims.
“What happened has happened and we are here to chart a way forward. It is time that the system of the commission is reformed in such a way that it aligns with Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.
Gbajabiamila expressed optimism for a new chapter in the commission’s operations, stressing, ”Hajj is not supposed to cause pain to the pilgrims.”
The Deputy Chief of Staff echoed the Chief of Staff’s position, emphasising the need for early preparation for Hajj operations.
“Hajj is essentially a big logistics operation. I was involved in the 2024 operation, and one of the key lessons learnt is the need for early preparation.
“Nigeria has the largest quota of pilgrims from Africa, and we have countries whose quota is less than the number from a state in Nigeria.
“The Hajj Commission also needs to be more transparent in informing pilgrims what they are paying for,” Hadeija said.
In his remarks, Prince Malam Abdulrazak, NAHCON’s Executive Commissioner, Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, called for an overhaul of the commission’s accounting system and improvement of federal character representation within the organisation.
“The commission is described as a national entity, but the federal character is not fully represented. If you go through the nominal roll, it is dominated by a particular region,” Abdulrazak said.
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