Hajj: NAHCON and State Pilgrims’ Agencies Clash Over Contract Termination with Saudi Service Provider

• The Forum of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards expressed concern that Nigerians may miss the 2025 Hajj due to a NAHCON contract cancellation
• NAHCON dismissed the concerns as speculation, while the Independent Hajj Reporters urged NAHCON and state agencies to resolve their differences

The Forum of Chief Executive Officers of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Agencies, and Commissions has expressed concern that Nigerians might be unable to participate in the 2025 Hajj due to an alleged contract cancellation between the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and a Saudi service provider.

NAHCON had signed an agreement on January 17 with Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah, a Saudi company responsible for providing feeding and accommodation services to Nigerian pilgrims in the holy land.

However, the forum’s secretary, Abubakar Salihu, warned that NAHCON’s contract cancellation could prevent Nigerian pilgrims from securing visas for the 2025 Hajj.

NAHCON, however, dismissed these concerns as speculation. The commission’s chairman, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, speaking through NAHCON’s spokesperson, Muhammed Ahmed Musa, stated, “People are speculating about what we went to Saudi Arabia to do, but once the process is completed, we will brief the media.”

Salihu, speaking to journalists, insisted that if Nigerian pilgrims cannot attend the 2025 Hajj, NAHCON should be held responsible.

He expressed disappointment that after a thorough selection process and the signing of the Masha’ir contract with Mashariq Al-Dhahabiah, the NAHCON chairman allegedly canceled the contract via an electronic portal.

Meanwhile, the Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a faith-based civil society organization, has urged NAHCON and the state agencies to resolve their differences to ensure a smooth 2025 Hajj operation.

In a statement signed by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, IHR stressed that ongoing disputes between NAHCON and state pilgrims’ boards over service provider selection could disrupt Hajj preparations.