NAHCON Praises Saudi Muttawiffs Over Hajj 2016

Jameelah Sanda

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has awarded the Saudi Muttawiffs in charge of African Non-Arab pilgrims a high grade in the arrangement towards the success of Hajj 2016 even as it charged them to brace up for further improvements in the future.

The Chairman/CEO, Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammed, gave the verdict after a recent meeting with the Establishment of Muttawiffs of pilgrims of African Non-Arab countries in Makkah.

He stated that it was not an easy task to host or organise a seamless arrangement for three million people and therefore paid glowing tributes to the Saudi government and the Muttawiffs for their acumen which he said led to the tremendous improvements in the services and facilities provided for the teeming pilgrims.

According to him, the Muttawiffs particularly deserved commendation for the marked improvement in the sanitation and cleaning of the tents in Muna, efficient transport service and provision of more toilet facilities in Arafat, stressing that the gesture helped to minimise the strain and stress of the pilgrims at the two worship areas.

The NAHCON boss however pointed out that in spite of the Muttawiffs’ commendable feat, the commission would still seek for refund in some aspects where the services paid were not adequately rendered or not provided at all.

In his words “some tents that housed states like Osun, Yobe, Nasarawa among others whose desert cooling system did not work at Arafat due to the blow up of the linking power transformer, in that instance, we have to seek for refund because the service paid for could not be rendered.”

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the establishment, Ramy Saleh Lebung said the meeting was meant to review the 2016 Hajj and would serve as a feedback on the performance of the establishment. He assured that the organisation would strive to build on the positives and at the same time address and avoid the negatives experienced during the last Hajj.

According to him, the meeting would serve as a platform for the preparation towards the 2017 Hajj. He commended NAHCON for their commitment and cooperation.

In another development, the Bangladesh Hajj Mission has pledged its assistance to NAHCON to fulfill its objective of attaining digital or electronic registration of Nigeria pilgrims.

The Head of the Mission, Muhammed Maqsudul Rahman made the promise during a working tour of the Commission to his office. He said it was in the interest of the Muslim world to assist one another in obtaining knowledge.

Earlier in his remarks, the NAHCON CEO said the visit was to broaden the spirit of brotherhood as well as impact knowledge among Hajj managers. He therefore called for greater collaboration and cooperation among Hajj missions with a view to uplift the standard of Hajj administration in the world.