By Mikail Mumuni in Makkah
*Photo: Mallam Idris Ahmad Al-Makura, Chairman of Forum of Chief Executives of States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions (2nd left) and some of his members at a briefing on Friday night*
The Forum of Chief Executive Officers of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions has rated the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) high in the 2024 Hajj operations so far.
The Forum gave the verdict in Makkah on Friday night.
Reading out resolutions of the group at the end of their meeting in Makkah, the Chairman, Mallam Idris Ahmad Al-Makura, said it was noteworthy that NAHCON was able to process the visas of Nigerian pilgrims in record time.
According to him, “We are here today to talk about the just concluded Hajj operations. At the conclusion of every Hajj we always sit to discuss how we have fared. The forum has just met where we did a post-mortem of the 2024 Hajj and come out with some resolutions in order to let the whole world know what happened in 2024 Hajj.”
He said “The Forum of Chairmen and Secretaries of State Executives commended NAHCON for the early processing and approval of visas to pilgrims. This is the first time the state pilgrims go visas between 2-3 weeks before the outbound flights.”
Al-Makura who doubles as the Executive Secretary of Nasarawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board added that “The state pilgrims boards note with admiration that all pilgrims stayed equal number of days in Madinah and the Commission facilitated entrance into the Rawdah. This is commendable and the Forum encourage NAHCON to sustain this.
The airlifts of the pilgrims from Nigeria to the KSA was commended and we hope and believe the inbound airlifts will be as good and smooth as the outbound.”
He stressed that “We also commend NAHCON and the Masha’ir activities for this 2024 Hajj. The Forum notes an improvement in the accommodation and feeding in this year’s Mashair compared to what happened in 2022 and 2023.
Mallam Al-Makura said “The Forum however called for inclusion of more local foods into the food menu for future Masha’ir feeding.”
On the issue of Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), the Forum regretted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reneged on its agreement with NAHCON by not paying pilgrims at the rate when they made their deposits.
In his words, “The Forum expressed dismay over the disappointment of NAHCON by the Central bank of Nigeria, despite agreement to give the pilgrims $500 as BTA only to turn around and sell the at the prevailing market rate.”
The Forum pledged continued collaboration with NAHCON.
They also commended the NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Malam Jalal Ahmad Arabi and promised him and his Management team adequate support in the overall interest of the Hajj industry.
