The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has approved the request by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for cash transactions to be granted to intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the request was granted by the apex bank after the intervention of Vice President Kassim Shettima.
Aliu Abdulrazaq, NAHCON’s Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance made this known to journalists after a meeting with Shettima in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The Commission said the approval is not a subsidy, to the intending Hajj pilgrims, by the Yemi Cardoso-led apex bank
The Agency had earlier reported that CBN introduced a new payment method for Basic Travel Allowance, BTA, for Nigerians embarking on the 2025 hajj pilgrimage.
There had, however, been concerns that the hitherto use of mandatory debit cards proposed by the CBN for the pilgrimage would endanger the smooth planning, operation, and performance at the 2025 Hajj.
According to Abdulrazaq, the meeting was prompted by the policy of the federal government on the card for BTA for 2025 Hajj operations.
”Out of the magnanimity of the CBN and an appeal made by the Vice President, the idea of a card for pilgrims in the 2025 Hajj has been dropped.
“This is a landmark achievement for NAHCON. If you go to Saudi Arabia, mostly in the areas where the pilgrims are going to perform their rituals, there is only one Automated Teller Machine there.
“And it is always crowded and poses so many difficulties for pilgrims to purchase whatever they want to purchase.”
”But now we are confident that the Hajj operations will be very seamless for the pilgrims, as all arrangements are in top gear; even the BTA that was our fear has now been addressed.”
Similarly, the NAHCON’s Secretary, Dr Mustapha Ali, clarified that the change was neither a concession nor a subsidy from the Federal Government.
”There is a need for clarification. It is not a concession or intervention by the federal government. It is not a subsidy either.
”The vice president intervened because most of the pilgrims make purchases in the streets of Mecca or Medina, and they do not need debit cards to make their purchases.
“Now it is allowed for them to carry cash. The CBN will provide the cash at the market rate,” he said.
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