The Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR) has appealed to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the Private Hajj Operators to quickly find a common ground on the ongoing disagreement over list of approved tour operators.
In a statement he signed, the national coordinator of IHR, Ibrahim Muhammad, said the disagreement if not quickly resolved may affect the number of the 2024 intending pilgrims as well as the operational structure in the hajj industry.
Recall that NAHCON had released a list of 110 private hajj operators for participation in the 2024 Hajj. Prior to this, Saudi Arabia had directed all hajj participating countries to reduce the number of private hajj operators to 10.
But NAHCON was compelled to introduce new criteria to trim the 110 companies to 40 with a view to allowing others to merge with the approved 40 companies whose names will be forwarded to Saudi Arabia.
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The tour operators whose names are on the initial list of 110 released by NAHCON, are alleging favouritism in the final list.
Ibrahim, while stating the importance of regulatory oversight and compliance, noted that it was not right for the commission to have publicly suspended the pre-hajj activities and allocation of hajj slots to the 40 tour operators irrespective of allegations made by some of them because doing so amounted to ‘admitting’ error of judgement in the lists especially given the extremely tight schedules in the 2024 hajj calendar.
