Indications have emerged that the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) would push for immediate scrap of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) for allegedly mishandling the 2024 pilgrimage in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
 
Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State dropped the hint during a chat with reporters shortly after he completed the rites in the Asian nation.
 
Blaming NAHCON for the death of no fewer than 100 Nigerian pilgrims, he expressed dissatisfaction with the utilisation of the N90 billion the Federal Government granted as subsidy to ease the spiritual exercise.
 
Bago, who insisted that NAHCON ought to be playing the regulatory role as against the operation role it has been playing, vowed that he would prevail on the NGF to review the law that established the commission for it to deliver on its mandate.
 
The governor described this year’s handling of the pilgrimage by NAHCON as a total failure.
 
His words: “For us as a country, we have failed. We have failed and continue to fail. NAHCON is supposed to be a regulator not an operator. But NAHCON has continued to play the role of operator and not a regulator, and therefore, they have failed pilgrims.

“Can you imagine that the feeding, accommodation of pilgrims in Medina, the tents in Muna and Arafat, the transportation both land and air freight, all are handled by NAHCON. Even the medical workers, they are selected from the states and the funds are released from the states to NAHCON.
 
“So, all these things hinder operation. There is no country that does that in the whole world. And very few countries have bodies like NAHCON. So, our general overview is for NAHCON to continue to be a regulator and not an operator.”
 
On deaths recorded by the country, he said: “In my state, we lost two in Medina due to their state of health, and this is one of the reasons I am talking about NAHCON. Because if medical part of the pilgrimage is handled by states, you will do your screening, you will see people who are diabetic, people who have underlining ailments, and you will be able to understand how you can transport them.  
 
“But nobody does that because NAHCON is in charge. So, we lost two due to medical issues and we lost another four due to heat waves in my state, and in Nigeria. I am sure it can’t be less than a 100 in general.

“So, this is not a good number and this should stop. Let state governments be able to do the right thing; screen their pilgrims, check their status health-wise, and even for those that are coming for medicals, let us understand if they are coming for medicals and the kind of medications they are taking.”

But nobody does that because NAHCON is handling it.

THIS came as NAHCON admitted that the just-concluded hajj operations were a clear departure from previous experiences, with enviable records set in the annals of the exercise. 
 
Its Chairman, Jala Ahmed Arabi, gave the account during an interactive session with members of the National Media Team of the commission in Makkah. 
 
He explained that away from the recurring challenges associated with pilgrims’ welfare at the sacred sites, NAHCON, under his leadership, had raised the bar of hajj operations in Nigeria. 
 
He reminded that despite the initial hiccups that characterised the operations, the renewed strategy deployed before and after the inbound flights yielded relative success. 

Not overruling some unintended mistakes that might have risen in course of operations, the NAHCON boss pledged that the commission will continue to learn from its weaknesses, while redoubling effort in upping the ante in subsequent exercises. 
 
Highlighting areas of success in the outgoing exercise, Arabi said NAHCON was able to put on record airlift of 100 per cent of Nigerian pilgrims way ahead of Saudi Arabia’s deadline, thereby avoiding the usual lobby for extension of visa issuance and, or, airlift. 
 
He also boasts of adequate provision of bed space and sufficient meals for Nigerian pilgrims at Muna and Arafah, against the ugly experiences of the past.

“You cannot guide anybody from expressing their opinion, but certainly we have done more than previous experience. For the first time in a long time, we have not asked for extension of time to airlift pilgrims. Issuance of yellow card, not delay, every pilgrim get theirs, accompanied by vaccine. 
 
“We don’t claim we know all and achieve 100 per cent, but we can say we have attained moderate successes. I know people have right to complain of certain things, but we know ours is better than 2023,” he submitted. 
 
On pocket of criticisms and shortcomings noticed by some state governments on the performance of Hajj 2024, the NAHCON boss said he would rather prefer not to join issues with the political leaders.