NAHCON partners Indonesian Hajj mission on ICT, finance

National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is exploring partnership with the Indonesian Hajj mission to boost information technology and financing for enhanced service delivery during this year’s pilgrimage.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, made this known, following a meeting on the sidelines of the ongoing four-day Hajj and Umrah Expo at the Super Dome Centre in Jeddah.

Hassan, who led a delegation to the meeting, said ICT and Hajj funding are crucial to the success of any pilgrimage arrangement and therefore, need to be pursued and strengthened.

“For us to ensure the health and wellbeing of Nigerian pilgrims, we have no alternative but to seek the sustenance of our ICT programmes from the world’s best, to ensure better service delivery,” he said.

The NAHCON chairman expressed optimism that the partnership would impact positively on the outcome of the 2023 Hajj. He said: “I look forward to a robust relationship between our two organisations, which I believe, if discharged diligently, will benefit Nigerian pilgrims as well as enable us to achieve successful Hajj outings.”

In his remarks, the leader of Badan Pengelola Keuangan Haji (BPKH), Fadlul Imansyah, also stressed the importance of ICT and funding towards successful Hajj and Umrah and advised NAHCON to ensure digitisation of its operations. He expressed delight over the partnership, which, he said, would help to cement diplomatic relations between both countries.

The NAHCON delegation included Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Nura Hassan Yakassai; Commissioner, Operations, Licensing, Inspectorate and Tour Operators, Abdullahi Magaji Hardawa; Commissioner, Planning, Research Statistics Information and Library services, Suleman Mommoh; and board members and some staff of the Commission.