N5bn Budget Padding Uncovered At NAHCON

A fresh N5 billion budget padding scandal has rocked the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), sparking outrage among stakeholders and calls for urgent investigation by anti-corruption agencies.

Official documents obtained and reviewed by this newspaper reveal that the contentious sum was inserted into the commission’s 2025 budget by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs under a vague budget line titled “Hajj Support Programme” with the ERGP code ERGP202503279.

As of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, efforts to reach Usman G. Gubio, the director/clerk of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a reaction were unsuccessful. He did not respond to calls.

When approached for clarification, Hajiya Fatima Sanda Usara, assistant director of information and public relations, NAHCON, stated that she was not in Abuja and could not confirm the existence of such a letter from the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs to the commission about the alleged insertion of N5 billion in the NAHCON’s 2025 budget.

NAHCON’s total approved budget for 2025 is N7.63 billion, comprising N2.23 billion in recurrent expenditure and N5.4 billion for capital projects. However, the N5 billion padding, which falls under neither category with any specificity, raises significant concerns about the misuse of public funds.

Further investigations show that the N5 billion was not earmarked for any identifiable project and was included under a broad and questionable heading, suggesting it was designed to be diverted. Similar patterns were discovered in the 2025 budget of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, where an identical N5 billion was inserted under the “Pilgrims Support” line.

This newspaper has seen internal communications between the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and NAHCON, which indicate that the sum was to be shared between NAHCON officials and Senate committee members.

A letter dated April 24, 2025, with reference number NASS/SCFA/33/30’/03/95.03, titled “National Assembly’s Insertion in the 2025 Appropriation Act”, and signed by Usman G. Gubio, director/clerk of the committee, explicitly states that N2 billion of the N5 billion was allocated to the committee.

Senator Abubakar Musa Bello, a two-term former governor of Niger State, chairs the committee.

The letter reads in part: “You are to note that the Senate Committee’s component for this project is N2,000,000,000 (Two Billion Naira), and you will be notified accordingly in due course of activities for its implementation.”

This newspaper’s investigation reveals that this is not the first time NAHCON has been implicated in budget padding. However, this is the first time the alleged fraudulent insertion is in the billions. Past cases involved hundreds of millions, dating back to 2020, under the leadership of Barrister Zikirullah Kunle Hassan.

In the 2022 budget, for instance, N382 million was inserted for questionable projects, including N255 million for “Hajj Operational Support” and N127.5 million for the purchase of “constituency vehicles” for two House of Representatives members—an action that violates the commission’s financial regulations.

Records show that one vehicle, a 2022 model Toyota Hilux, was purchased for N42.5 million for the Awe/Doma/Keana Federal Constituency in Nasarawa State. Additionally, N42.5 million each was allocated for “Training and Enlightenment of Pilgrims” in Nasarawa and Ifako/Ijaiye Federal Constituency, Lagos State—projects far outside NAHCON’s statutory responsibilities.

According to findings, the implicated lawmakers are Abubakar Nalaraba and Adisa Owolabi, chair and deputy chair of the House Committee on Hajj Pilgrimage Affairs.

Sources within NAHCON claim these projects were never implemented, and the funds were allegedly handed over in cash to the lawmakers. One senior official stated, “This fraud is only possible when corrupt lawmakers find a willing NAHCON chief executive. It takes two to tango.”

A staff member expressed concern over the deterioration in financial discipline under the current leadership of Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman. “This commission once ran offshore operations without government funding during President Buhari’s administration. Now, it’s not just relying on federal allocations again—it’s allegedly colluding with lawmakers to loot billions,” he said.

Sources also allege that a well-known travel agency is used as a conduit for siphoning the padded funds.

In response, prominent Islamic cleric Sheikh Isma’eel Muhammad Bello condemned the scandal and expressed disappointment in the NAHCON chairman. “It is disheartening that an Islamic scholar like Professor Saleh would stoop so low. This fraud is an assault on Islam and the Nigerian Muslim community,” he said.

Hajj stakeholders and civil society organisations are now calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to launch full-scale investigations into the N5 billion scandal and prior questionable insertions in NAHCON’s budgets.

Sources at the EFCC confirmed to this newspaper that the travel agency allegedly linked to the fraud has been invited for questioning.