A pro-democracy group, Kwara Must Change, has commended the member representing Baruten-Kaiama Federal Constituency of Kwara State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Bio Umar for exposing alleged corruption carried out during the 2024 Hajj operation.
The convener of the group, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, said that the ongoing reform at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON), especially the sack of the immediate past chairman is a sign that the current administration does not condone corruption.
Hamzat noted that Bio initiated a motion at the House of Representatives, in July, 2024 which led the house to set up an ad- hoc committee to investigate the NAHCON on the conduct of the 2024 Hajj operation.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion titled, “Urgent need to investigate the National Hajj Commission and the Federal Capital Territory Administration Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, their agents and sub-agents over shoddy arrangement and treatment of Nigerian pilgrims in the 2024 Hajj exercise,” he said.
Hamzat added that Bio’s petition led to investigation by various anti graft agencies including Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which uncovered a multi-million-dollar fraud allegedly perpetrated by top officials of (NAHCON).
“ The anti-graft agency’s discoveries came from an extensive investigation into the suspicious use of funds allocated to NAHCON for Hajj operations over the years.
“Hon Bio’s effort in championing, cleaning and sanitizing the Hajj Commission has led to investigation of suspects, detention and other reform in the commission, which is yielding positive results and the group expect this reform to improve the management of Hajj operations in the future,” he said.
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