This was ratified during a virtual preparatory meeting between NAHCON officials and the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (MOHU).
Present at the virtual space meeting led by NAHCON’s Commissioner Policy, Personnel, Management and Finance (PPMF), Aliu Abdulrazaq was the Commissioner for Operations, Inspectorate and Licensing, Prince Anofi Elegushi, Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistics and Information and Library Services (PRSILS) Prof Abubakar Yagawal, and other Senior Management Staff of the Commission at Hajj House.
Representatives on the part of Saudi Arabia were drawn from the MOHU, Saudi Immigration Service, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
Abdulrazaq commended the Saudi ministry for the successful 2024 Hajj Operations, saying that NAHCON had started 2025 Hajj preparations.
During the meeting, the Director General, Office of the Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Badr Assulamy, who doubles as the Chief Consultant in Charge of Offices of the (world) Pilgrims’ Affairs requested full support of NAHCON to make 2025 Hajj a success.
Badr laid out a timeline of activities as a build-up to the Hajj pleading with the Commission to commit itself to deadlines.
He said payment of Hajj fares, completion of contractual agreements with service providers, issuing of licenses to air carriers and other stakeholders must be concluded before issuing of Visa would be possible.
He said Visa issuance would commence on February 19, 2025, while encouraging NAHCON to finish issuing Visas before the deadline.
Badr urged the Commission to exercise patience on the issues that occurred in Mina and called for collaboration with service providers to select the best location in Mina if the Hajj fares are remitted early.
Among the guidelines for the 2025 Hajj are that all pilgrims should be vaccinated with the stipulated vaccines: yellow fever, COVID-19, meningitis etc. Furthermore, it must be indicated during registration if an intending pilgrim suffers from other ailments such as Cancer, Diabetes.
Commissioner, PPMF, Aliu Abdulrazaq, raised several challenges faced by pilgrims during the recent Hajj exercise.
These issues, according to him, included a shortage of toilets in Mina, subpar meal options that lacked indigenous flavor, and transportation difficulties from Muzdalifa to Mina.
Abdulrazaq also drew attention to the harassment some pilgrims faced due to inactive NUSUK identity cards which he said were no fault of theirs but that of the issuing authorities.
He called on the Saudi authorities to look into these issues to avoid reoccurrence.
Contributing to the discussion, Rawan Alassaf disclosed that the awareness platform created by the Ministry is one of the most important developments for the 2025 Hajj.
The platform captures the experience of the pilgrims, as well as an interactive learning system in Makkah and Madina.
She invited NAHCON to assign a communication officer to liaise with MOFU on developing specific content to assist the Nigerian pilgrims in performing their Hajj rites.
