NAHCON fixes Feb 28 as deadline for hajj remittance

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says the deadline for the remittance by states for the 2023 hajj remains February 28.

In a statement on Thursday, Mousa Ubandawaki, NAHCON’s assistant director of information and publications, urged states to endeavour to make their remittances before the deadline to avoid forfeiture.

“The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) hereby wishes to restate that the deadline for the remittance of 50 percent deposit of 2022 allocation remains February 28, failure of which the affected state(s) would forfeit their allocation or reduced,” the statement reads.

“Remittance to the Commission in this past week has been abysmal and payment to service providers in Saudi Arabia remains the biggest assurance that Nigeria will participate in this year’s Hajj.

“Therefore, it is necessary to kick things off. By our calendar of events, the final remittance to the Commission should be concluded by February 28 in order to conclude our arrangements on time, as we didn’t want to give room to lapses.

“We implore the SPWB/A/C to cooperate with us and ensure compliance with the directive in order to make the Hajj 2023 successful. While reiterating our commitments to all intending pilgrims to ensure that everyone who paid their fare is registered.

“We urge the states to respect the agreement on the distribution of Hajj quota on the basis of 60% for government pilgrims and 40% for the Hajj Savings Scheme subscribers.

“In the same vein, the commission is disturbed about cases of Hajj Savings scheme subscribers being discouraged or pressurised to withdraw or migrate their deposits from the scheme to the State Board, in order to be registered for this year’s Hajj.

“It should be emphasised that under the 2023 Hajj policy, 40% of intending pilgrims would be from Hajj Savings Scheme, while 60% would be from the government, pay as you go.

“NAHCON will like to assure all the stakeholders that no stone will be left unturned to make sure that the 2023 Hajj arrangements and operations are hitch-free.”