Niger State Governor Umaru Bago yesterday called for the review of activities of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
Bago, who called for the probe of the N90 billion subsidy paid by the Federal government for the Hajj operations, vowed to lead a committee of governors to meet relevant authorities to champion the review of the commission.
According to statement by Bago’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Bologi Ibrahim, in Minna, the governor made the call in a chat with reporters in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, wher he assessed this year’s Hajj operation.
He expressed concern that rather than exert its energies on playing regulatory roles, NAHCON turned itself to an operator of Hajj activities.
Recounting the hitches pilgrims encountered, the described the 2024 Hajj exercise as a failure and suggested that Hajj operation should be private sector-driven for effective and efficient service delivery.
The statement quoted Bago as saying: “Let the private sector drive Hajj operations, NAHCON should be a regulator at the centre.
“I am leading a committee of governors to the Nigeria Governor’s Forum (NGF), from there we go to the NEC (National Economic Council).
“I will propose this motion and we will send a Bill to the National Assembly where this issue of NAHCON would be reviewed.
“NAHCON is not helping matters, our Federal Government is too big to be worried about Hajj operations, these are supposed to be local government issues and not even states’”, Bago said.
The governor said that the state governments should be able to organise pilgrimage and engage agents from the private as it is done in other countries.
He called for the probe of N90 billion subsidy paid by the Federal government for the Hajj operations.
The governor described as unfortunate that some states, including Niger, still paid some billions for the pilgrimage, in spite of the subsidy.
He alleged that the pilgrims, who paid N8 million each, were given only $400 (each) to take care of themselves for about 40 days.
According to him, the N90 billion subsidy would have made more impact if routed through the states.