Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima has given his nod for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, to begin preparations for the 2024 Hajj operations.
Chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan disclosed this in an interview with State House Correspondents, soon after he met behind closed doors with Vice President Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He however said that “the issue of foreign exchange is a challenge for the Commission but expressed optimism that the problem would be surmounted.”
Alhaji Hassan noted that in a few weeks, Nigerians would get to know the cost of next year’s Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
He said; “The National Hajj Commission is actually well prepared for the takeoff of Hajj 2024. As you know, there are a number of issues that have to be settled primarily, particularly this issue of the exchange rate. And as you are aware, over 90 percent of Hajj fare is in US dollars in the sense of the flight, the cost of hotels, all the services being provided in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“So, all these are still being worked out. We already got the approval of His Excellency for us to start in earnest the preparation for Hajj 2024. In a matter of weeks, we’ll inform Nigerians, exactly how we intend to queue into the roadmap of Saudi Arabia. So that our planning will be in time so that when you plan early enough it will also lead to the smooth success of the operation.”
The NAHCON Chairman, who led a delegation of the Management of the Commission on the visit, said they were in the State House to brief the Vice President on the operations of NAHCON.
“We are here to brief his Excellency, the Vice President about the National Hajj Commission our mandates, our scorecard and our challenges as you are aware, the Vice President is in charge of supervising our activities so we have a duty, time to time, to report to his excellency about our challenges, and about our plans as well,” the NAHCON Chief Executive Officer stated.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
