FILE PHOTO
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through its Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, today announced its approval of Nigeria’s pre-Covid slots for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for the 2023 Hajj exercise.
The approval was conveyed to NAHCON Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, by the Director-General in charge of Hajj Missions at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Bahauddeen bin Yusuf Alwani, during a preparatory meeting for the 2023 Hajj via a video conference.
The development was said to kindle the hopes of many prospective Nigerian pilgrims to perform the 2023 Hajj as the country was only granted 45,000 slots for the 2022 Hajj, the first to be thrown open to international pilgrims after two years following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While international pilgrims were not allowed to perform Hajj in both 2020 and 2021, Nigeria had an allocation of 95,000 slots before the outbreak of Covid-19.
NAHCON Assistant Director, Information and Publications, Mousa Ubandawaki, informed that though the Saudi authorities had yet to give exact figures of slots approved for Nigeria, they had granted the previous allocation hitherto enjoyed by Nigeria.
According to him, other guidelines released for the 2023 Hajj by the Saudi ministry included the removal of the age limit and cancellation of PCR tests for the Hajj.
The ministry further granted NAHCON the right of choice of package for pilgrims services from the Mutawwiffs of African Non-Arab countries, the company responsible for the tent, feeding and transportation arrangements at the Masha’ir (Muna and Arafat).
“In addition, the ministry also stated that henceforth any payment to service providers must be through the e-track or e-wallet platforms as the Kingdom will not take responsibility for payment outside the two platforms.
“The Ministry also announced that accommodation agreements are to be concluded by the 10th of February (Sha’aban) and others by the 24th January (Rajab),” Ubandawaki stated.
He added that details of the discussion between the ministry and NAHCON included that information on the choice of airliners approved by the Commission for the airlift operations and their allocation must be submitted early enough to fast-track the 2023 Hajj preparation.
It was agreed that NAHCON must submit information about pilgrims 72 hours prior to their departure to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to enable adequate arrangements for their services.
Earlier, Yusuf Alwani expressed regret over his ministry’s inability to grant NAHCON’s request during the 2022 Hajj for additional 5,000 allocations and airlift slot.
In his response, the Chairman/CEO, Alhaji Hassan, expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the early preparation and restoring the country’s Hajj allocation.
He said that it was heartwarming that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Ministry of Hajj has restored the hope and confidence of many prospective Nigerian pilgrims that desired to perform the Hajj this year.
Hassan also thanked the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for its consistent support and cooperation in serving the guest of Allah.
The chairman, however, appealed to the ministry to allow the commission to handle the feeding management during the Masha’ir activities with a view to serving the Nigerian pilgrims better than what was obtained during the 2022 Hajj by the Mutawwiffs.
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