Alleged NAHCON Fraud: CISLAC Applauds ICPC’s Probe into FG’s N90bn 2024 Hajj Subsidy

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), has applauded the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for initiating an investigation into the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over allegations of misappropriation of N90 billion grant the commission by the federal government as subsidy for the 2024 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

CISLAC said that its concerns are further heightened by Nigeria’s ongoing struggle with corruption as the country ranked 150 out of 180 on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Transparency International.

It further said that the CPI score, which reflects the perceived levels of public sector corruption, underscored the urgent need for reforms in the country, particularly NAHCOM.

CISLAC particularly said that the widespread looting during the 2024 Hajj exercise was alarming, stressing that it was worrisome because of the religious significance of the event.

CISLAC said that with the ICPC’s investigation underway, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are hopeful that the case will serve as a turning point in the fight against corruption in the country.

These were contained in a statement by Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Executive Director of CISLAC, who noted that in spite of the substantial payments and the allocation of federal government subsidy, many pilgrims received substandard treatment, thereby raised serious concerns concerning the management of the funds by NAHCON.

In the words of Rafsanjani: “We commend the ICPC’s efforts to expose this monumental fraud and urge them to ensure that corruption is rooted out of our public institutions”.

The CISLAC Executive Director stressed that persistent fraud and institutional failures have significantly contributed to the country’s deepening poverty, saying that with over 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty, according to figures by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the diversion of public funds intended for citizens’ welfare has exacerbated the nation’s socio-economic challenges.

According to Rafsanjani, “The level of fraud and disregard for institutional integrity have plunged millions of Nigerians into abject poverty while a few individuals amass wealth at the expense of the general populace”.

CISLAC also condemned the actions of some corrupt public officials, adding that Nigeria’s current pathetic state can be attributed to their ‘wickedness’, thus, called for a concerted effort towards restoring trust, integrity, and dignity to the nation’s public institutions.

CISLAC said the ICPC’s probe of NAHCON will also ensure accountability and justice for the millions of citizens who suffer the consequences of corrupt practices.