2025 Hajj: NAHCON signs amended contract agreement with Saudi service provider

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) today signed an amended contract with the Saudi Arabian service provider, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, to provide services for Nigerian pilgrims to this year’s Hajj exercise at the Masha’ir (holy sites of Muna, Arafat, and Muzdalifah).

Controversies had trailed the contract earlier signed with the Saudi-based company, following NAHCON’s signing of what it described as a supplementary service contract with another Saudi company to cater for Nigerian pilgrims this year.

This development led Mashariq Al Dhahabia to threaten to sue the Nigerian Hajj body for breach of contract, claiming that NAHCON only allowed it to register 26,287 on Saudi Arabia’s NUSUK system for international pilgrims’ services. Therefore, it called for a meeting to discuss the breach within 20 days of its letter, failure of which it would resort to court arbitration.

Speaking at a press briefing shortly after signing the amended agreement with a delegation of the Saudi company at the Hajj House headquarters of the commission in Abuja, NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, said that with the amended agreement, Mashariq Al Dhahabia would no longer cater for 95,000 intending Nigerian pilgrims as earlier agreed upon, but for 52,000 pilgrims that the commission anticipates would partake in the exercise.

Usman informed that the Mashariq Al Dhahabia delegation, led by its CEO, Muhammad Hassan, visited Nigeria for a courtesy visit and to sign the amended agreement.

According to the NAHCON boss, the amendment to the earlier agreement was necessitated by the fact that Nigeria could not utilise all the 95,000 slots allocated to it by the Saudi authorities for this year’s Hajj.

He said that the previous contract agreement stipulated that Nigeria would bring 95,000 pilgrims to the Holy Land this year, adding that there was a need to amend the contract since the figure was impossible.

“Everybody can clearly see that there is no way we can get the 95,000. So, the registered pilgrims must now be included in the agreement instead of the 95,000 we were looking forward to.

“So it calls for amendment because it has been quoted in the previous agreement that we are coming with 95,000 pilgrims, which is not possible.

“Now that they have closed the registration of pilgrims and space from Saudi Arabia, we are able to do only 52,000. So that’s the only amendment we did in the agreement, just to quote the real figure we will be having at the Masha’ir this time around,” the NAHCON CEO said.

Prof Usman then assured Nigerian intending pilgrims for this year’s spiritual exercise that the commission had completed all arrangements, adding that NAHCON would conduct smooth and successful Hajj operations by the grace of Allah.

Also speaking at the briefing, Mashariq Al Dhahabia CEO, Muhammad Hassan, said the meeting between his company and NAHCON was aimed at improving the relationship between the two entities.

According to him, both parties engaged in strategies that would best serve Nigerian pilgrims, leading to settling all contractual agreements.

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