No intending pilgrim will miss 2025 hajj, Shettima declares

• Directs NAHCON to resolve visa concerns
• NAHCON chair debunks allegations

Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, assured the Muslim community in the country that no Nigerian intending pilgrim will miss the 2025 Hajj exercise, vowing a hitch-free conduct for the participants.

To this end, the Vice President has directed the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to resolve all visa concerns and take all necessary measures to ensure smooth and unhindered pilgrimage for all intending pilgrims.

This was the outcome of a meeting Shettima held with the management and board of the commission in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Shettima had summoned the meeting following reports that a contractual dispute with Saudi service provider, Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah, could potentially lead to visa denials for Nigerian pilgrims.

“We will not allow any Nigerian intending pilgrim to miss the 2025 Hajj. The pilgrimage will be seamless, and every challenge will be addressed promptly,” Shettima said.

The Vice President issued firm instructions to the NAHCON leadership, urging them to take all necessary steps to protect the interests of Nigerian pilgrims, saying: “NAHCON must do whatever it takes to guarantee the full participation of our pilgrims without any hindrance. From now on we must have to set the right standards, move in the right direction and have a hitch-free hajj exercise.”

Addressing concerns about the purported contract cancellation with the Saudi-based company, NAHCON Chairman, Prof Saleh Usman, had earlier in the day reassured Nigerians that the issue would not affect the pilgrimage.

“There is no cause for alarm. No single registered pilgrim will be left behind,” Usman declared.

He also dismissed allegations from the Forum of States Pilgrim Welfare Agencies that the contract dispute could derail the pilgrimage.

He explained that the contract was actually cancelled by the Saudi government, not him. “The contract with the Saudi Arabia-based company was cancelled by the same Saudi government, and they later approved it and subsequently cancelled it for the second time. So, you can see that I have nothing to do with the cancellation.”