The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) revealed yesterday that 900 Nigerians disappeared after the 2017 hajj.
The NAHCON’s Commissioner in charge of Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Mr. Yusuf Adebayo, told stakeholders at a meeting in Lagos that such absconding pilgrims were only wasting their time as they would be found out sooner or later by the Saudi authorities.
“We have also observed that some Nigerians do not return with their state contingents after the pilgrimage; some do not even perform the hajj rites before absconding,” Adebayo said, and asked intending pilgrims for the 2018 Hajj to make early preparation to avoid unnecessary challenges.
“This informs why a deadline of March 31 has been fixed for all hajj payments, because all payments are expected to get to Saudi Arabia by April.”
