The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has been urged to avoid making unrealistic promises to prospective pilgrims for 2024 hajj.
The call was made by the Independent Hajj Reporters in a statement by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, on. Monday.
On Saturday, the hajj commission had announced this year’s Hajj fare, stating that for intending pilgrims from southern part of the country will pay N4, 899, 000; while their counterparts from the north will pay N4,699,000 while pilgrims from Yola and Maiduguri are to pay N4,676,000.
The group, therefore, said the highest fare of N4.899 million indicates that the shrewd negotiation tactics employed by NAHCON have saved Nigerian pilgrims around N1.5 million each.
IHR however, advised the Hajj Commission to refrain from unnecessarily raising intending pilgrims’ hopes of a reduced fare until all options are considered and decisions taken.
The Chairman of NAHCON, Mallam Jalal Ahmed Arabi has repeatedly assured that the cost of the Hajj this year will not be more than the N4.5 million announced as a deposit for all pilgrims.
In the same vein, a recent statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the commission has given details of the reduction of prices of vital services ahead of the announcement of the fare, thereby, raising the hope of the pilgrims that the fare may not be up to N4.5 million after all.
This short analysis triggered the hope of a possible reduction in Hajj fare that will be below the initial N4.5 million promised by the NAHCON Chairman irrespective of foreign exchange rates. Intending pilgrims might not be aware of arithmetic intricacies involved in hajj fare computations.
In the same vein, contrary to age-long practice, the statement announcing the Hajj fare was silent on the amount of Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) that each pilgrim is expected to receive.
“We urge NAHCON to immediately inform all intending pilgrims how much they will be receiving as their BTA to aid their proper planning for the pilgrimage and also promote transparency and accountability,” the statement said.
