Nigerian pilgrims would spend only four days, not the traditional eight days in Madinah during the 2024 hajj, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), revealed on Wednesday.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NAHCON, Malam Jalal Arabi, disclosed this in a speech marking the inaugural flight of the 2024 hajj pilgrims in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state on Wednesday. He said the decision was one of the measures taken by the commission to reduce the 2024 hajj fare.
Flynas, a Saudi-designated Nigerian hajj air carrier, landed at the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport (SABIA) in Birnin Kebbi Tuesday night, to airlift the first batch of Nigerian pilgrims to Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Vice President Kashim Shettima was the special guest at the event, where he confirmed that President Bola Tinubu had subsidised 2024 hajj with N90 billion.
Mr Arabi said, “We reduced the length of stay in Madinah from eight days to four days and charged a fee commensurate to the four days, thereby cutting down the Madinah accommodation fees significantly after bargaining for the same luxurious hotels at a lower cost.”
He said the decision was taken by the “NAHCON management after consultation with members of the State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards introduced certain measures to reduce the high Hajj expenses.”
The chairman said the commission also reduced the pilgrim Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) from $800 to $500, explaining that “any pilgrim in need of more dollars can source them on their own.”
Mr Arabi said the commission has “made enough accommodation and feeding arrangements that would not warrant the pilgrims spending extra on these amenities, thus five hundred Dollars would suffice in this global cash crunch times.”
He said the commission has also succeeded in moving pilgrims from the far end of ‘Tent D’ in Muna to a higher up area adjacent to ‘Camp D’ that is closer to the Jamarat.
