With the expiry of the payment deadline for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage at 12 am today, a glimmer of hope emerges for some intending pilgrims as both the federal government and select state administrations, including Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, and Ogun, step in to provide subsidies to alleviate the financial burden.
Despite these subsidies, a segment of intending pilgrims remains in limbo, urging state Muslim pilgrims’ welfare boards to refund their deposits due to their inability to meet the balance of N1.9 million announced by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Sunday.
Meanwhile, others are striving to secure the necessary funds independently to fulfill their pilgrimage aspirations.
As of press time, there is uncertainty regarding a possible extension of the payment deadline, with no official communication from NAHCON on the matter.
In a significant move, the federal government has allocated N90 billion to subsidize the 2024 pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to insider sources within NAHCON.
These sources, preferring anonymity, underscored the crucial role of this intervention, which prevents each intending pilgrim from bearing an additional burden of at least N3.5 million on top of the initial fare set at N4.9 million.
Corroborating this, a senior official at the Presidency confirmed the government’s financial support for the Hajj exercise.
Recall that NAHCON had initially fixed a minimum fare of N4.9 million per pilgrim in December last year, citing an exchange rate of N897 to a dollar at the time.
However, in a subsequent announcement, the commission revised the fare upwards by N1,918,032.91, bringing the total amount to N6.8 million, attributing the hike to Nigeria’s ongoing foreign exchange challenges.
Insiders at NAHCON revealed that had the commission received a support package of up to N230 billion from the federal government, there would have been no need to impose additional financial obligations on intending pilgrims.
The insider said: “The forex crisis has caused a lot of problems. That is why the hajj commission has asked intending pilgrims to pay the extra amount of N1.9 million each. The commission actually needed N230 billion to sort out the fare differential caused by the forex crisis.
“The promise for support which was provided by the government was announced in the presence of reporters during the inauguration of the board and management of the hajj commission, which was held at the Office of the Vice President on February 28, 2024.”
The source said the NAHCON had also contacted state governors to subsidise the hajj fare for the intending pilgrims in their respective states.
“By the previous calculation, the N90 billion given by the federal government can only subsidise 19,000 intending pilgrims by ₦3.5 million. But by spreading it on 50,000 pilgrims, it reduces it to N1.9 million; meaning that the federal government has subsidised each pilgrim by ₦1.6 million before each intending pilgrim was asked to add the remaining N1.9 million,” the source further explained.
