- A source who is familiar with the matter said the Federal Government had to cough up the huge amount to shoulder the extra cost of the religious voyage.
Despite pervasive hardship occasioned by galloping inflation and other disturbing macroeconomics outlook, the federal government has doled out N90 billion in subsidy for the 2024 pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The release of the massive fund was sequel to the recent hike in this year’s hajj fares as announced by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
Initially, NAHCON had fixed the Hajj fare 2024 at N4.9 million, sparking calls from various quarters for government intervention. However, the commission recently requested pilgrims who had already made payments to supplement an additional N1.9 million, elevating the total fare to N6.8 million.
NAHCON cited the volatility in exchange for the increment in fares.
However, a source who is familiar with the matter said the Federal Government had to cough up the huge amount to shoulder the extra cost of the religious voyage.
The source, who spoke on the conditions of anonymity, told Daily Trust that without the government stepping in, each of the intending pilgrims would have had to pay at least N3.5 million to the initial fare which was pegged at N4.9 million.
The NAHCON’s source disclosed that the actual amount needed as support by the commission from the federal government to offset the extra cost was around N230 billion, adding that the inability to get this amount and the government willingness to only part with the amount released was why the Pilgrims were requested to “to add a dime.”
“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 N90 billion 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 Presidency on February 28, 2024. But they (reporters) were asked not to report it. That was why no newspaper carried the report. Or did you see it in any reports?”
“If the intending pilgrims pay ₦1.9 million, it is then it can be balanced,” the source further stated.
He said the NAHCON had also contacted state governors “to subsidise the hajj fare for the intending pilgrims in their respective states. Kano has responded by subsiding it by N500,000 for each pilgrim.
“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,” he said.
A presidency source also confirmed the development, stating that it was true that the federal government provided some financial reprieve to cushion the effect of the hajj fare hike.
Asked to confirm whether the federal government released up to N90 billion as support for the pilgrimage, the official simply said: “that might not be far from the truth.”
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