2017 Hajj: Nigeria got $18.6m discount on accommodation

Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Abdullahi Mukhtar yesterday said the country secured a reduction of $18.6million on accommodation in Saudi Arabia during last year’s Hajj Exercise.

Mukhtar told members of the Senate ad- hoc committee on accommodation, logistics, feeding of Nigerian Pilgrims chaired by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi).

He said the country secured a reduction of $4.3m on accommodation in Mecca and $14.3m in Medina, Saudi Arabia during the last Hajj exercise, when compared with 2016. He said the accommodation was close to the Holy Mosque.

The NAHCON boss, who attributed the hike in hajj fare to foreign exchange rate, said private tour operators that collected N1m as hajj fares couldn’t provide befitting accommodations to their pilgrims.

Mukhtar swore with the holy Quran that there was no corruption or extortion in the 2017 hajj exercise. He said 98 percent of hajj components were in dollars cost, hence the hike in the fares.

Responding to Aliero’s reservation on allocation of 50 percent of pilgrims to Saudi Airline for airlift to Saudi Arabia, Mukhtar said it was former president Goodluck Jonathan that approved it.

Aliero who described the agreement as lopsided, urged the Federal Government to seek for review to give more opportunities to Nigerian Airlines.