THE Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), has commended the chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullah Saleh Usman, is highly commended for appointing Alhaji Alidu Shutti as the acting secretary of the commission.
MUSWEN, which is the umbrella body for all Muslim communities, councils and all Muslim organisations in the six states of the South West–Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo–gave the commendation in a statement signed by its president, Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo.
It described the appointment as a “well-thought-out decision,” praising Professor Usman for his “painstaking thoroughness” and for “looking inwards to identify an experienced hand, versatile” in the NAHCON operations.
“This is opposed to the approach of appointing someone who will still require going through training and induction into the culture and the inner workings of NAHCON,” the organisation said.
MUSWEN congratulated the acting secretary, Alhaji Shutti, and urged him to bring his experience in running hajj operations, which he had garnered and deployed over the years, to bear on his new responsibility for the benefit of the entire Muslim ummah in Nigeria.
It prayed for Allah’s help for NAHCON in its efforts towards making hajj easier for Nigerians, saying “We also look forward to fostering a good partnership with you in the South West, as you steer the ship of blissful hajj for our teeming Muslim brothers and sisters in Nigeria.”
In the same vein, the Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR) commended the leadership of NAHCON for looking inwards to appoint an acting secretary to the commission.
The IHR, in a statement signed by its national coordinator, by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, lauded the decision to appoint an acting secretary from among the staff members of the commission.
“We have always advocated for looking inwards whenever there is a vacancy within the commission because we believe the staff are better placed to serve better owing to their wealth of experience. Hajj being a highly technical and unique exercise requires people with practical on-field experience to steer it successfully.
Read Also: Equities market sustains bulls as investors earn N792.7bn
“We are particularly delighted in Alidu Shutti’s choice because of his wealth of experience and the fact that he rose through the ranks. He had shown remarkable abilities in all the positions he held in NAHCON to date,” the organisation said.
It said looking inwards to fill vacant positions would spur the staff members to continue to do more because they know they have a chance of career progression.
The IHR called on Shutti to live up to the expectations of not just the leadership of NAHCON but all stakeholders within the hajj and umrah industry.
NAHCON had announced the appointment of Alhaji Shutti as acting secretary to replace Abdullahi Kontagora who resigned from the position.
and then