By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, informed that participants in the 2023 pilgrimage are to get a refund of 150 Saudi Riyals .
This is as the Commission announced the abolition of concessionary foreign exchange rate regime for the 2025 Hajj operations .
The number of lead companies for the 2025 Hajj, the Commission insisted, has been reduced from 20 to now 10 .
A statement issued by its spokesperson, Fatima Usara, said the decision to refund the about 95 000 pilgrims who took part in the exercise was due to the avalanche of complaints over poor service delivery by the pilgrims.
The decision as well as others she noted were reached at a joint meeting between the Commission and Private Tour Operators PTOs
The Meeting, conducted virtually, was presided over by the NAHCOM Commissioner of Operations, Olanrewaju Elegushi, according to the statement.
The Commissioner stated that all the 95,000 pilgrims from the states and private operators are to receive the refund ,noting that arrangements for the disbursement have reached advanced stage.
“As for the 2022 refund, the Commission is still awaiting further details . However, refund details have emerged only for PTOs that camped on Field Office 18 in 2022 .
“They are to collectively receive SR 62,602 as refund for poor feeding in the Masha’ir” Elegushi informed .
Instructively, while the refund is to be made, the Commission has announced there will be no subsidy regime, effective 2025 operations .
According to Elegushi, there will no more be concessionary exchange rate regime for all categories of pilgrims, be they State and or private Hajj operators .
The National Commissioner ,further stated that part of the decisions reached at the joint meeting was the approval of the use of Bank guarantees by operators ,instead of the usual N40 million caution deposit effective 2025 .
He noted operators who had already explored the old order are, however, permitted to ask for refunds to enable them migrate to the Bank guarantees regime
Similarly, Elegushi stated that the registration window has been extended to October 11, 2024 ,with the accommodation of both cash and bank guarantee deposits .
In the interim, those opting for the back guarantee can issue a bank draft pending the procession of the bank guarantee which can be submitted even after the end of the registration dateline.
According to the statement, as part of efforts to ensure a hitch free 2025 Hajj operations, , and avoid some of the challenges of the 2024 operations, the Commissioner informed that a delegation comprising NAHCON officials and PTO members will be visiting the Holy Land to iron out some gray issues .
The delegation he said will be attempting to resolve such matters as trapped IBAN deposits ,pending refunds and limited issuance of Umrah visas .
The Source reports that the Federal Government during the just concluded 2024 Hajj operation ,paid out about N90 billion to subsidize the exercise.
Similarly, most state Governments stepped in to cushion the harsh effects of the high exchange rate on their pilgrims.
Despite the intervention,
many intending pilgrims were priced out of religious exercise.
Not a few believe that with the decision to phase out concessionary exchange rate regime, the exercise will be limited to the super rich .
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