IT is worrisome that 67 days after the completion of this year’s hajj operation, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards (SMPWBs) are yet to refund Nigerians who couldn’t perform the holy pilgrimage.
The Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), an organisation that monitors and reports hajj and umrah operations, disclosed this on Thursday in a statement issued by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammmad.
The organisation noted that the last batch of Nigerian pilgrims returned home on August 7, with nearly 3,000 Nigerians being unable to participate in the spiritual exercise despite fully paying the hajj fare pegged at N2.5 million.
IHR said: “Despite the unprecedented disappointment and the trauma experienced by the intending pilgrims, NAHCON and the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards are yet to refund them”.
The group recalled that about 729 intending pilgrims from Kano State, 93 from Kaduna State, 152 from Plateau State, among other Muslim faithful from other states, missed the 2022 hajj due to challenges of airlift and cancellation of visas.
It said: “While we acknowledge that some intending pilgrims may opt to retain their deposits for the 2023 hajj, such options are only tenable after NAHCON and state Muslim pilgrims boards formally announce their readiness to refund those pilgrims.
“Therefore, it is curious that 67 days after the 2022 hajj formally ended, NAHCON and some state pilgrims boards are yet to refund intending pilgrims who missed the pilgrimage due to operational defects.”
The IHR urged NAHCON to abide by its promise and refund the intending pilgrims without further delay.
It recalled that the chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, had, while speaking to newsmen in Saudi Arabia, assured those who missed the 2022 hajj of the commission’s readiness to refund their fares immediately.
It said Hassan had also promised that those who did not wish to retrieve their money would be accorded priority next year.
IHR restated commitment to ensuring that each of the intending pilgrims who missed the hajj exercise, especially those willing to collect their money, are refunded.
“It is our view that only timely payment of the refunds to the intending pilgrims along with apology from NAHCON and the affected State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards can rebuild the lost confidence by those intending pilgrims,” the body said.
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