Governor Umar Bago of Niger State has declared his intention to lead the effort to abolish the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), a federal government agency responsible for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Bago made this statement during an interview with journalists in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
In a video posted on social media, the governor said he would lead a campaign to dissolve the agency, arguing that the federal body should act as a regulator rather than managing the entire Hajj.
“As the state governor, I want to lead a committee of governors and the NGF to eliminate NAHCON. NAHCON is not helping.
“The federal government is too big to care about Hajj problems. This is a local government problem, not a state one. State governments should be able to organize pilgrimages and involve private sector actors who can manage this more effectively, as other countries do. The government has no reason to do this,” he stated.
Mr Bago’s criticism appears to have arisen from a shortage of space in the VIP section where he and others were staying at Muna.
According to the governor, some personalities felt “embarrassed” by the lack of sufficient tents.
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“Can you imagine the governors of Nigeria, the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, paying NAHCON and having nowhere to sleep and feeling ashamed? People will say it is because the governors have been affected. Yes, they have been affected, but it is good that we are affected, and this is the time for us to change the narrative,” he said in the video.
Mr Bago’s position aligns with one of the recommendations of the Oronsaye Report, which recommended the elimination of NAHCON and the Nigerian Christian Pilgrimage Commission (NCPC).
Contention between states and FG over Hajj operations.
There has always been discord between NAHCON and state governors over the management of Hajj operations. The governors believe that their welfare boards should be in charge of organizing the Hajj, and that NAHCON should be limited to a regulatory role.
Under the current agreement, NAHCON is responsible for the food and accommodation of pilgrims in Medina; State boards take care of their pilgrims in Mecca, while Saudi-authorized vendors take care of food and accommodation in Muna.
NAHCON also oversees the operation of Nigerian clinics in Medina, Mecca and Muna.
Decentralization of operations
Bago argued that there is a need to decentralize Hajj operations and free NAHCON from some responsibilities.
“We have failed and we continue to fail. NAHCON is supposed to be a regulator, not an operator, but it has continued to act as an operator and thus failed the pilgrims.
“Can you imagine that food, accommodation in Medina, tents in Muna, transportation and health workers are all managed by NAHCON? No other country in the world does this,” the governor said. Bago said he would have been better off managing the feeding of pilgrims in his state.
“NAHCON does not have commercial charter flights; It is not your responsibility to feed the pilgrims. For example, I am from Niger State. If you allow me to feed the pilgrims, I will be able to transport food that people are accustomed to locally to Saudi Arabia to feed my own pilgrims.
“I will be able to get a kitchen that prepares family food for my pilgrims, instead of giving them a slice of bread or a boiled egg, leaving them hungry. We have different cultures; You cannot impose Arab cuisine on our people, and that is why they are getting sick,” he said.
Food was also a major challenge during the 2023 Hajj, however, NAHCON blamed the Saudi government for the “food crisis”, stating that it was due to the policy of the Saudi authorities.
Failure despite N90 billion subsidy
Bago also questioned the utilization of the federal government’s N90 billion intervention fund for the 2024 Hajj, suggesting that the fund could have served other purposes such as education.
The government subsidized the 2024 Hajj with N90 billion following the increase in Hajj fees caused by the devaluation of the naira.
“Imagine sharing this money with all 36 states. Some states also paid subsidies. In Niger State, I paid N3 billion. That N90 billion is enough to fund UBEC for four years. So, we cannot give our resources to the people. Some people paid 8 million naira for this operation and received only 400 dollars. “This is ridiculous,” he stated.
PREMIUM TIMES sent a message to NAHCON spokesperson Fatima Sanda-Usara for a reaction, however, she had not responded at the time of filing this report.
READ ALSO: Hajj: State pilgrim boards reject Bauchi governors’ call for NAHCONS decentralization
Bago is the second Nigerian governor to criticize NAHCON’s handling of the 2024 Hajj operations.
A few days ago, Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed expressed similar concerns and called for decentralization of the commission’s operations.