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Nigeria is facing accommodation challenges in Makkah, Saudi Arabia ahead of 2025 Hajj —due to the non-entering of housing details for pilgrims accommodations under state quota in the Saudi electronic Nusuk platform.

It was learnt that officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and those of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards (SMPWB) are scrambling to secure fresh accommodations from low-budget houses having lost the premium ones they selected, inspected and booked but lost to other countries. .

Securing accommodations in Makkah is a prerequisite for obtaining Hajj visa for pilgrims in the E-Tract NUSUK platform.

Some States from the Northwest, Northeast, North-central and South were the worst hit by the cancellations, it was learnt.

“These states have been displaced from the premium houses/hotels in good locations they have been occupying for years,” a state official lamented.

“Luckily, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah had extended the accommodation deadline from March 25 to April 4,” a Hajj official in Saudi Arabia said.

The official said Nigerian authorities have to secure fresh accommodations and upload them on the E-Tract before the new deadline expires.

Inability of the states to upload the accommodations details on the electronic platform means their pilgrims won’t get visa and therefore won’t perform the 2025 Hajj, the official warned.

Hajj officials pointed accusing fingers at NAHCON for creating the accommodation mess.

Findings revealed that NAHCON had earlier advertised and shortlisted Saudi accommodation providers —from which state pilgrims boards picked their choices. Most of the pilgrim boards made their choices after due consultations with their governors.

States officials – including some Governors — had travelyed to Saudi Arabia and made reservations from the NAHCON- accredited hotel providers. NAhCON officials subsequently inspected and approved the reservations by giving offer letters of eng

However, NAHCON failed to back up the bookings with the usual advance payments to firmly the reservations.

This led to the States losing most of their houses to other countries who are handy and ready for actio.

It was also found out that the States were unaware that they have lost their houses until towards the March 25 deadline — when the NAHCON ICT team realised that most of the booked houses by the states in preparation for visa processes were not available, another NAHCON staff said.

As a fallout of the mess, States are scrambling to secure any available accommodation — notwithstanding its distance to the Holy Mosque, standard, quality of service or price.

“States pilgrims boards are now scavenging houses from NAHCON non-accredited service providers just to meet up with the new deadline.

Nobody is talking about quality or standard anymore. The key word now is availability,” a NAHCON official told one of our reporters.

It was gathered that NAHCON has introduced a new list of housing providers — who were not accredited and shortlisted because they couldn’t meet up with the initial pre-qualification criteria advertised by the commission.

The commission has set a SR3,000 uniform benchmark per pilgrim bed space. A development, insiders said, was morally wrong — because accommodations are priced by their distance to the Holy mosque, standard, and quality of services.

With this rush now, accommodations that are far below SR3,000 are now being signed up for Nigerian pilgrims by states and NAHCON officials — for fear of missing the Hajj. “I don’t have any option now. I just need houses for my pilgrims. Without securing a hotel for them, my pilgrims won’t come to 2025 Hajj. That is our dilemma now. Nobody is talking about quality. Our concern is availability,” a state pilgrims boss from the Southwest lamented.

“Accommodation agents are now having a field day as they obviously cash on the desperation of Nigerian states officials. It has also become a conduit for some few unscrupulous well-connected NAHCON officials to fleece the states,” another staff of NAHCON who sought anonymity told this newspaper.

However, another commission official has predicted a negative scenario, saying pilgrims may protest the type of accommodations they would stay in Makkah during the Hajj. “The Makkah accommodations are central to Hajj because pilgrims spend more than 80 percent of their days there,” the official said.

It was alleged that the commission Chairman Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman couldn’t pay the accommodation providers because he allegedly used all the money to pay the two Masha’ir service providers.

Professor Usman has made full payments to Mashariq Aldhahabiah for 35,000 pilgrims, and Ekram Aldyf 25,000 pilgrims for Masha’ir services, it was alleged.

Observers are still perplexed by the NAHCON chairman’s wisdom behind paying for 60,000 pilgrims – even through the commission had earlier announced that Nigeria only booked for 52,000 pilgrims in Masha’ir.

The chairman is in Saudi Arabia with about 50 staff – they don’t have any schedule like it used to be.

Some staff are allegedly using the opportunity to manipulate the mess in the accommodation crisis for a fee. “It is a kind of a rat race. Everyone is scavenging for a carcass to feast on,” an official alleged.

However, in a statement on Sunday, Professor Usman, while seeking support from all stakeholders, ruled out any impending hiccups — saying he has made adequate arrangements for a smooth 2025 Hajj.

He said he has been meeting with relevant critical stakeholders that include tour operators, Saudi service providers, executive secretaries of state pilgrims boards, Saudi health officials, among others, for a seamless Hajj.