By Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says that the minimum payment deposit fare for next years Hajj exercise has been pegged at N4.5 million.
Fatima Sanda Usara, the Assistant Director, Public Affairs at NAHCON stated this in a statement.
Usara said that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria jointly with the Forum of State Executive Secretaries of Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions reached the agreement on the 5th of September 2023 in line with the Dollar rate that will determine the final cost of the coming Hajj.
“At the end of the said post-Hajj meeting in September, all the Hajj stakeholders at the meeting 8departed with the same resolution to inform the public that the minimum deposit for an intending pilgrim to be registered for the 2024 Hajj is N4.5m.
”The wisdom behind this minimum deposit revolved around three reasons. First, is for the states and the Commission to estimate how many pilgrims would be eligible to be counted as intending pilgrims at least by 4th November 2023, a time set by Saudi Arabia for the Commission to conclude preparatory meetings with service providers.
“Knowing the estimated number of eligible pilgrims is one of the indices that would guide the preparatory meetings. This Saudi timeline is roughly three weeks from now. Secondly, it was agreed in unison that with that amount, the top up residual by the time the final fare will be announced would be minimal compared to what may be required to balance timely and accurate planning.”
This, she said is in addition to enabling the Commission have a more realistic figure to bargain for cost of accommodation, airline fares, feeding, and others knowing the number of persons that were able to reach the N4.5m threshold by the time of preparatory meetings.
”The said meeting ended with members agreeing unanimously with this plan. Indeed, the Hajj industry in Nigeria is recognized under only one leadership which is the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, and this institution reiterates that the minimum deposit for the 2024 pilgrim fails to be counted among eligible applicants for 2024 Hajj season.
“The Commission also wishes to remind those interested in participating in the 2024 Hajj of the time constraint with regards to final date of funds remittance into the coffers of Saudi Arabian account deposits in time to enable their respective boards to complete registration and remittance of Hajj fare by 5th January,” the statement added.
