Pressure is now on both President Bola Tinubu and state governors to provide intervention fund to enable intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia perform their religious obligation.

The pressure stems from the upward review of Hajj 2024 fare by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

The commission announced an upward review of Hajj 2024 fare on Sunday, resulting in an outcry.

NAHCON which initially pegged the fare at N4.

When the requested sum of N1.918 million is multiplied by the 50,000 intending pilgrims, it will amount to N95.900 billion as the shortfall of the fare.

NAHCON had in Dec. 2023 fixed N4.9 million per pilgrim based on the then exchange rate of N897 to the dollar.

Authorities at both the state and federal levels could not meet the deadline set by Saudi Arabia to remit operational funds for hajj services despite extensions given because NAHCON was waiting for the Federal Government’s promised intervention to grant lower forex rates equivalent to the number of registered pilgrims from Nigeria.

With the approved timeframe for visa processing ticking away, NAHCON on Sunday, therefore, announced that due to the failure to meet obligations as when due, it had no option but to ask the about 50,000 intending pilgrims that had paid the initial fare of N4.9 million to pay additional N1.918 million on or before March 28.

As a Civil Society Organization (CSO) by name Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR) raised the alarm yesterday saying over 90 percent of those who paid the initial deposit of N4.9 million cannot afford to raise additional N1.9 million within four days.

Mallam Muhammad Ibrahim, the National Chairman of IHR said, “It has therefore, become imperative for us to call on the state governors and the Federal Government to come in and provide immediate succour to the pilgrims by providing additional payments as a form of subsidy.

“Currently, NAHCON is on the verge of missing out on the deadline of 29 April set by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to process visas for Nigerian registered pilgrims – there will be no hajj without a visa.

“For example, it will take state pilgrims welfare boards a minimum of one week to make announcements for pilgrims to be aware of the new increase.

“Over 65 percent of those who have registered for the 2024 hajj are farmers and it will take an additional one week for those who have the means to be able to raise the N1.9 million increase announced by NAHCON.

“If the pilgrims were able to pay the additional increase, then states pilgrims boards will need a few days to transmit the collection to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the bank to begin the process of transferring the said sum to NAHCON’s International Bank Account Number (IBAN) in Saudi Arabia. It is only after this that payments can be made to Saudi Arabia based service providers.”

Ibrahim added, “With visa processing scheduled to close 35 days from now and the airlift of pilgrims billed to commence in 45 days, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should come to the rescue and provide the needed support without asking pilgrims to pay an additional increase for 2024 hajj.

“Anything short of this will see Nigeria travelling to Hajj 2024 with less than 10,000 pilgrims out of the allocated 95,000 slots with a potential risk of Nigerian pilgrims missing out on 2024 Hajj.”

According to him, IHR had on several occasions called on relevant authorities to take firm decisions and implement them because what is happening now had been foreseen.

“We first raised the alarm on July 8, 2023 via a press statement titled ‘CSO urges NAHCON, states to commence registration of 2024 Hajj pilgrims in earnest’ when the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced the commencement of Hajj 2024 operations even when Hajj 2023 was not concluded.

“This was followed by another statement dated 6th Dec where we pleaded with the Federal Government to grant concessionary exchange rates for 2024 hajj pilgrims.

“We are, therefore, appealing on behalf of all Nigerian Muslims that emergency interventions are provided so that pilgrims who have at least paid the initial deposit of N4.9 million are not denied the chance to fulfil this all-important religious obligation,” IHR said.

Similarly, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Home Affairs in Lagos State, Mohammed Danmole has appealed to Tinubu to intervene.

Danmole said, “As a result of different regimes of rates of exchange given the tour operators and the state pilgrims board, it has become difficult for private tour operators to keep their clients.

“Your Excellency, I am sure that you will intervene and put succour and smile in the face of the private operators. I am appealing to the President to look into the high level of disparity in the exchange rate regime between the state sponsored pilgrims and those of the private tour operators.”