The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has urged Nigerian intending pilgrims not to panic, assuring that they would all be airlifted to Saudi Arabia for the 2023 hajj in the next 10 days.
LEADERSHIP exclusively reported on Friday that with just two weeks to the closure of Saudi airspace, no fewer than 45,000 Nigerian pilgrims may miss this year’s hajj due to non-availability of travel visas to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Reacting to the report, NAHCON admitted that there was a technical problem relating to visa processing, but that it had been resolved.
The commission’s deputy director of information and publications, Alhaji Mousa Ubandawaki in a statement described the report as not only misleading but mischievous aimed at causing panic and apprehension among intending pilgrims in particular and the public in general.
He said so far over 35,000 Nigerian pilgrims are in Saudi Arabia while the remaining pilgrims are expected to be airlifted in the next 10 days.
“It is interesting to note that out of 75,000 slots more than 58,000 visas have been processed so far for Nigerian pilgrims. Of these, 20,000 visas were issued between yesterday and today while the remainder will be processed by tomorrow. Despite the hiccup, the commission is committed to concluding the airlift operation to Saudi Arabia before the 20th of this month.
“As a matter of fact, all the states that are scheduled to fly are on course to do so without any disruption related to visa procurement. Moreover, considering our resolve to airlift all our pilgrims to visit Madina before Arafat and the need to synchronize the airlift with the available accommodation in the city and not to overcrowd the place the commission was cautious of pushing more pilgrims out
In conclusion, we want to urge our partners in the media that while it is critical for them to push the interest of Nigerian pilgrims, they also be conscious of the fact that they might be indirectly creating worry and anxiety for the hapless pilgrims.
“We therefore urge the public and the pilgrims to disregard the news report which is meant to cause disaffection, panic and anxiety among Nigerians. We want to reiterate our commitment to airlift every eligible Nigerian pilgrims to the holy land not only in good time but also in comfort and best welfare service,” the statement said.
Despite the assurances, over 34,000 Nigerians are reported to have yet to get visas.
For over two weeks, the intending pilgrims couldn’t secure visas due to the delay in remittance of their hajj fares to the CBN by the hajj commission.
As at yesterday afternoon, 34,178 Nigerians were yet to get visas, while 55,332 were yet to be airlifted to the holy land.
These fueled fears that thousands of the intending pilgrims may miss this year’s spiritual journey, as it happened last year.
Official data obtained from the Status of Visa Issuance Dashboard of the Saudi Embassy revealed that of the 95,000 total hajj seats allocated to Nigeria, only 66,220 got their visas as of 11:00am Nigerian time yesterday, June 9, 2023.
The breakdown showed that 57,995 intending pilgrims from the state pilgrims boards were issued visas out of the total of 75,000. This means that 17,005 state pilgrims and officials were yet to get their visas as at yesterday.
On the other hand, of the total 20,000 hajj seats allocated to private tour operators, only 2,827 pilgrims were issued visas as at yesterday when this newspaper checked the visa issuance dashboard.
This development means that thousands of the intending pilgrims may not be able to be airlifted to the holy land in the next 11 days before the deadline.
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