To forestall a repeat of poor service delivery suffered by Nigeria’s pilgrims during the 2024 Hajj, Mai-Hajj, a civil society organisation (CSO), has charged the leadership of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to commence preparations for the 2025 Hajj exercise.
The group, in a statement signed by its chairman, Garba Ubale Dambatta, which was made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday, said last-minute arrangements in the past had led to failure, especially in securing good accommodation for pilgrims in Makkah, Madina, and Muna, respectively.
According to the group, ” the nonavailability of toilet facilities in Mudzilifa, where Nigerian pilgrims were sometimes forced to queue for several minutes before accessing the facility after a long walk from Arafat, due to lack of adequate toilet facilities, can be attributed to the lack of adequate plans during final negotiations with Saudi authorities.”
Mai-Hajj noted that other challenges witnessed during the 2024 Hajj operations, such as delays in inbound flights, poor accommodation in Muna and Arafat, and inadequate toilet facilities in Munna and Muzdalifah, were largely due to late preparation for the Hajj exercise.
“In view of the need to achieve a hitch-free operation next year, Mai-Hajj calls on NAHCON to promptly set up a monitoring committee of experts and stakeholders to swing into action in key areas of the operations such as aircraft selection, accommodation, transportation, security and media for effective public education and sensitisation in all areas of the Hajj 2025 operations,” the group added.
