The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it acknowledges that it owes deep and unreserved regrets to the entire pilgrims to the 2022 Hajj for the hardships and disappointments experienced during outbound airlift operations to the holy land.
The Commission, in a statement signed by its acting Director, Public Affairs, Fatima Sanda Usara, said it is offering similar apologies to the federal government of Nigeria, State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, Private Tour Operators, and the general public for any embarrassment the situation of the past few weeks might have caused.
It said that sadly, despite all efforts to airlift all Nigerian intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2022 Hajj, NAHCON was incapacitated in discharging this responsibility fully, majorly due to last-minute setbacks that frustrated its plan to conclude the airlift of pilgrims by 27th June of this year.
The Commission said that unfortunately, the chartered flight option that gave so much hope to NAHCON and the Private Tour Operators’ leadership also became a failure as their IBAN accounts failed accreditation by the respective authorities in Saudi Arabia.
It acknowledged that specifically, the following numbers of affected pilgrims would not make it to Saudi Arabia before the closure of Jeddah airport, hence they are sadly bound to miss this year’s Hajj. They are Nine (9) pilgrims from Bauchi State; 91 pilgrims from Plateau state; 700 pilgrims from Kano State and an estimated 750 pilgrims from the Private Tour Operators sector.
The Commission then gave the assurance that all affected pilgrims will be refunded their Hajj fares while it will work towards improving its deficiencies next time.
“NAHCON has learnt a lot of lessons and is determined not to repeat the unfortunate situation,” it added.
“Management knows that no number of apologies could pay for the disappointments some Muslim faithful are currently experiencing as a result. “
