Skip to main content

How Buhari’s hajj reform saved pilgrims N90bn in 4 years - NAHCON

- Hajj reforms embarked upon by President Buhari’s administration has saved Nigerian pilgrims over N90 billion between 2015 and 2018

- The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria said the federal government abolished pilgrims sponsorship that used to cost about N1.6 billion annually during the reforms

- According to the NAHCON’s spokesperson, Fatima Sanda Usara, N229 million was saved through querying of local fees imposed on pilgrims

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) disclosed that the reforms that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration embarked upon has saved Nigerian pilgrims over N90 billion between 2015 and 2018.

Daily Trust reports that NAHCON’s spokesperson, Fatima Sanda Usara, made this known during an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja.

Usara stated that the hajj operations, during the previous administration, enmeshed in corrupt practices, which she said, included BTA dollar fraud, fraud in dollar concession and profiteering in the name of government sponsorship.

READ ALSO: We have decided to support Atiku - 2 presidential candidates drop ambition

She added that the corrupt practices were brought under control as a result of various reforms introduced by the Buhari administration.

Giving the breakdown of the figures, Usara said through discontinuation of dollar concession, N75 billion was saved in 2017.

During the period of Buhari’s reform, she said the federal government abolished pilgrims sponsorship that used to cost about N1.6 billion annually.

She said: “$14 million was saved when NAHCON introduced direct accommodation negotiation with homeowners in 2017. Each pilgrim would have paid 746 Riyals extra.”

According to her, Nigerian pilgrims would have been defrauded N1.6 billion but for the designation of Jaiz Bank in conjunction with the Islamic Development Bank as the official Hadaya agents.

In 2018, she said N229 million was saved through querying of local fees imposed on pilgrims. According to her, “For poorly rendered services during Hajj, pilgrims were refunded N1.5 billion in 2016 and due to improved services in 2017, it came down to N526 million.”

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

Usara, however, listed some of the reforms introduced by the commission to include unified operations in Saudi Arabia under national teams, reduced number of ad-hoc staff from 2000 to 500, and the introduction of penalties on air carriers that abandoned pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria transported 34,978 pilgrims in 90 flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the year 2018 Hajj exercise.

That was disclosed on Wednesday, August 15, by the commission’s command control unit, which disseminates each airlift from various international Airports in Nigeria.

The airlift of pilgrims which is expected to end this Friday, August 17, is being carried out by two local airlines, Max and Medview, and a Saudi Arabian owned Flynas Air.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: We have updated to serve you better!

Eid-el-Kabir: Why the ram killed must not exceed three days in your house - On Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng



from Nigeria News today & Breaking Naija news ▷ Read on Legit.ng 24/7 http://bit.ly/2N3INE6
via EDUPEDIA24/7

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis : 

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi