The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has shortlisted 110 private tour operators companies that will airlift 25,000 Nigerian pilgrims for the 2024 hajj.
This was revealed by the Assistant Director of Information, Fatima Sanda Usara, in a statement on Friday. She said the selection was after thorough screening of the companies who met the requirements for the next year’s Hajj licence.
“Part of documents required for eligibility include certificate of registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission, IATA (International Air Transport Association) certificate, IATA accredited staff and principal officers with no record of criminal conviction, presentation of evidence of owning N30m minimum share capital, possession of standard corporate office, evidence of having operated eight years of Umrah successfully or two years of Hajj operations.
“A N25m refundable security deposit must also be submitted. Purpose of this is to protect the interest of the registered pilgrims in case of contract violation or other infringements,” she said.
She said 155 companies applied with 58 companies initially successful while 97 companies were disqualified but given room for appeal.
“Eighty companies appealed and out of this number 52 companies met the criteria for qualification making a total of 110 private operator companies that resultantly qualified.”
According to Usara, the commission was holding further discussions with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on the ministry’s earlier policy to reduce the number of tour operators who will participate in the 2024 Hajj operation from Nigeria and other parts of the world.
The kingdom had asked Nigeria to present only 10 lists of private tour operators for the exercise, but the commission has requested for 100 which is lower than the over 200 operators who participated during the 2023 Hajj operations.
