Reps Set Up Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate NAHCON

By Linda Ike

The House of Representatives has set up a nine-man committee to investigate the abysmal performance of the National Hajj Commission during the 2024 Hajj operation in Saudi Arabian,

The House condemned the performance of NAHCON and FCTA Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board in the 2024 Hajj exercise.

The Green Chamber also set up an Ad Hoc Committee to investigate the activities of NAHCON and the Federal Capital Territory Administration Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, their agents, and sub-agents in the 2024 Hajj exercise.

The resolutions followed the adoption of a Motion of Urgent Public Importance moved by Hon Mohammed Omar Bio. on the Urgent Need to Investigate the National Hajj Commission and FCTA Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Board, Their Agents, and Sun Agents Over The Shoody Arrangement And Treatment of Nigerian Pilgrims in the 2024 Hajj Exercise.

Omar Bio noted that the Hajj exercise is important in the life of every Muslim and is, in fact, one of the five pillars of Islam;

He said, “NAHCON was set up to provide efficient and effective services to the pilgrims through implementation of NAHCON Act;

“Seamless coordination in the states of the federation, each state has a Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board and that of FCT is the FCTA Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board;

“About 50, 865 Muslim Pilgrims across the states in Nigeria were under the care of NAHCON, and some of them were not taken care of in terms of welfare, organization, guidance and monitoring as expected”.

The Lawmaker said, that despite the huge amount paid by the Pilgrims for the 2024 Hajj exercise, NAHCON’s 2024 Budget Allocation, intervention from the Federal Government to the tune of 90 Billion Naira, and support from the Government of Saudi Arabia, NAHCON and FCTA Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board’s below performance in the 2024 Hajj Exercise especially in Makkah and Mina is unexpected;

He is disturbed that if this poor performance of NAHCON is not investigated with a view to improved future performance, further Hajj exercises for Nigerian citizens may be more complicated and put the entire country in a bad light in the committee of nations