House Probes Hardship Faced by Nigerian Pilgrims During  2023 Hajj  

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The House of Representatives has resolved to conduct a detailed investigation into the several anomalies that emanated from the 2023 Hajj.

The resolution of the House followed a motion moved by Hon. Ahmed Idris at plenary on Thursday.

Moving the motion, Idris said over 95,000 Nigerian pilgrims participated in the recently concluded Hajj in the Holy land of Saudi Arabia.

He said a total of about 95,000 slots were allocated to Nigeria, which was coordinated by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and pursuant to Section 4, it is charged with the mandate of providing effective and efficient Hajj and Umrah services to Nigerian pilgrims.

The lawmaker added that this year’s Hajj recorded one of the largest turnouts in the history of Hajj with AlJazeera and other International media putting the figure at about 2.5 million pilgrims.

Idris decried that Nigerian pilgrims were subjected to untold hardships during the Hajj from the inability of some airlines such as Arik to lift pilgrims due to lack of aircraft; lack of adequate tent accommodation at Mina and Arafat; substandard tents with unhealthy living conditions and environment; lack of proper medical attention to pilgrims in cases of emergency; and lack of proper transportation logistics for Nigerian pilgrims, among others.

He further lamented that Nigerians were made to miss their flights due to stringent bottlenecks regarding withholding of their international passports; inability to secure airport slots for Nigerian airline operators for lifting of Nigerian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia back to Nigeria and many others.

Idris said over 25,000 Nigerian pilgrims, including those who paid for Tent A VIP Class, were stranded at Mina due to inadequate tents and oversubscription, leaving Nigerian pilgrims sleeping on the roads, under bridges and nearby mosques.

The lawmaker stressed that there were cases of several public officials, such as present and former governors, lawmakers who had no tent and were made to sleep in unhealthy places and conditions

He pointed out that VIP pilgrims were made to pay about $5,000 or 18,000 riyals for VIP tents, saying despite this exorbitant amount, pilgrims were stranded while others got tents of lesser value than what they paid for.

Idris said some of the tour operators perpetrated the worst form of unprofessionalism by failing to provide services promised to pilgrims in terms of accommodation, tent, feeding or transportation.

He expressed worry that there was the absence of emergency medical services for sick patients in distress at Mina camp, as many distressed patients could not be attended to due to restrictions of ambulance access to the camp.

The lawmaker noted that most Nigerian pilgrims were made to miss their flights and had to procure new tickets without justifiable cause due to disturbing bottlenecks placed by Hajj Service Centres, especially Service Centre No. 16, who withheld passports of pilgrims until a lengthy list of bottlenecks are fulfilled.

He expressed concern that many Nigerian pilgrims did not get commensurate value for the high amount they paid for and are justly clamouring for a full refund for tent and feeding.

He further expressed  worries that the agency mandated to cater for pilgrim affairs (NAHCON) has not been proactive in ameliorating the plight of Nigerians during the 2023 Hajj.

The House, therefore,  mandated “the Committee on Pilgrims Affairs (when constituted) to conduct a detailed investigation into the several anomalies that emanated from the 2023 Hajj and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative Action.”

It also mandated the Committee on Legislative Compliance (when constituted) to ensure implementation.