The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has explained why intending Nigerian pilgrims to the 2023 Hajj exercise will pay different fares based on their locations in the country.
The commission had announced eight different fare regimes for the northern States and other parts of the country for the 2023 Hajj with pilgrims from Borno and Yobe States expected to pay the lowest fare while pilgrims from Lagos and Ogun States will pay the highest fare of N2.99m per pilgrim.
Following the announcement of the final Hajj fares for intending Nigerian pilgrims, many stakeholders have expressed concerns on development, wondering why pilgrims from the same country would have to pay different fares for the same spiritual journey.
But, the commission has explained that the different charges were influenced by the nautical miles the aircraft will cover and locations of accomodations in the holy land of Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
NAHCON in a statement signed by its deputy director, Information and Publication, Alhaji Mousa Ubandawaki, stated that: “The Commission through the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) was made aware that tickets for air travel including the charter flight that Hajj carriers charge is influenced by the nautical mile the aircraft covers. It is the reason why the air ticket for Maiduguri and Yola departure is much lower than all the other Northern states as well as Southern Nigeria due to its proximity to Saudi Arabia. In other words, while pilgrims from those two airports spend less than four hours to Saudi Arabia, those from other regions of the North and Southern states spend 5 or more hours to the same destination.
“The other reason is the price and location of accommodation in Makkah It is a known fact that some States Pilgrims Welfare Boards with their large contingent needed a more expansive house or building to accommodate some of their pilgrims while some others may not need as much. So, in sourcing for accommodation, the various state go for the accommodation that suit their needs and capacity.”
Other reason why the fares are different from state to state has to do with the local charges by the different State Pilgrims Welfare Boards in terms of administrative charges, uniforms, registration fees, transportation shuttle for some state pilgrims who have to engage shuttle buses to transport their pilgrims to departure centers which more often than not are located in another state.
It added that these charges varied from state to state for instance, pilgrims from Zamfara had to be transported to Sokoto for their flight. Same thing with Osun pilgrims who must be moved to Lagos for the airlift.
“As I stated earlier, the role of NAHCON in this is limited to fixing a cap on the amount that could be charged by states. Thus, while states charge as little as N10,000 some others charge as much as N20,000. It is these instances that was responsible for the different Hajj fare announced for each state. It has nothing to do with the political economy of the states,
“While we acknowledged the sacrifice made by intending to fulfill this religious obligation, we promise and assure them that the Commission will continue to do everything to ensure they get value for money in terms of upgrading of quality services rendered to them so that they can realize and achieve Hajj Mabrur,” Ubandawaki explained.
The increase in 2023 Hajj fare shows a difference of over N300,000 compared to what pilgrims paid last year.
NAHCON attributed the increment to inflation in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia as well as continuous depreciation of the Naira against Dollar in the forex market.
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