By MARYAM SULEIMAN BELLO, Kaduna

The Serve the Pilgrims Initiative (SPI) has urged the federal and state governments to advance loans to pilgrims’ agencies to enable them to secure the seats allocated to them ahead of the hajj registration deadline for 2024.

SPI, a not-for-profit civil society organization that protects hajj pilgrims in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond, said the inability of Nigeria to meet its 2024 hajj 95,000 quota would likely affect its hajj quota allocation in 2025.

A statement released by SPI co-chair, Yakubu Musa Fagge, on Sunday 7th January, 2024, said the hajj fare advance “would be in the form of a bailout loan that would be paid back after the prospective pilgrims must have completed their payment after Ramadan.”

While urging intending pilgrims to utilize the 30-day extension window provided by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to complete their payments, the SPI “is appealing to the state and federal governments to give out these loans to enable their various pilgrims' agencies to secure their allocations ahead of the Saudi deadline. It’s not going to be free funds. The fund would be refunded after all payments have been completed.”

The CSO said the new Saudi hajj calendar is a good initiative, but would require gradual implementation because most pilgrims in Nigeria and other parts of the world are used to paying hajj fares “after Ramadan. This is largely because the majority of the pilgrims are either farmers or engage in commodity trading, which is done after harvest.”

The bailout would go a long way in securing the seats allocated to the states and also safeguard the hajj quota allocated to Nigeria by the Saudi authorities, the statement said.

The CSO also commended the Governor of Jigawa State, in northwest Nigeria, Malam Umar Namadi, for advancing N2.2 billion to the state pilgrims’ agency to secure 500 hajj seats ahead of the December 31, 2023 deadline,” the SPI said.

It appealed to the federal government to allow intending pilgrims to access dollar at the exchange rate of N750 as captured in the 2024 appropriation act as passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu.

SPI further appealed that the 2024 budget-approved N750 US dollar exchange rate should be applicable to both Muslim and Christian pilgrims.

The hajj pilgrims rights CSO also appreciated the NAHCON extension of time for registration for Nigerian hajj pilgrims.

It also said the hajj commission’s approval of three airlines with verifiable capacity, unlike last year, where some of the airlines were even under AMCON receivership, would go a long way in easing the airlift of pilgrims of the West African leading hajj country.

The civil society noted that the slow pace of registration of pilgrims is not Nigeria’s problem alone, as other leading hajj countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Niger, among others, are facing similar challenges. However, they are also adopting local measures to mitigate these challenges.

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