The Senate, on Wednesday, passed for second reading, a bill to amend the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Act.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Danbaba (Sokoto South), seeks to domicile all funds accruing to the Hajj Savings Scheme in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The funds are currently warehoused in a commercial bank.
The scheme creates an avenue for intending Nigerian Muslim pilgrims, especially low-income earners, to save for Hajj (pilgrimage to the holy lands of Makkah and Madina).
NAHCON and Jaiz Bank Plc had in September 2020 signed a savings scheme agreement to make it easier for intending pilgrims to gradually plan and save through a long-saving platform for people who intend to go for hajj.
The proposed legislation also aims at prohibiting NAHCON from using funds accruing to the scheme for its operations.
The amendment also seeks to restrict the activities of the Commission to its regulatory and coordinating functions as it relates to the conduct and operation of Hajj and Umrah in Nigeria.
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Senator Danbaba said the amendment was to protect the interest of the scheme’s subscribers and prevent the diversion of the funds for other purposes.
The House of Representatives had earlier this month asked the commission to suspend further implementation of the Hajj Savings Scheme pending the investigation of the scheme by its committee on Hajj affairs.
It also mandated the committee to review the agreement between NAHCON and Jaiz Bank Plc on the scheme to ensure transparency and accountability.
NAHCON recently directed states pilgrims’ welfare boards, agencies and commissions to migrate Hajj deposits made by the intending pilgrims to the Hajj Savings Scheme platform with Jaiz Bank to come under the control and supervision of the commission.
Lawmakers noted that such a directive could give room for corruption and lack of accountability in the scheme, hence, the need to suspend the implementation of the scheme until an investigation has been carried out.
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