The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has disclosed that the fare for performing hajj may increase with new policies enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Daily Trust reports that the fare for 2027 hajj ranges from N7.5m to N7.8m, depending on the location.

But the Chairman of NAHCON, Ambassador Ismail Yusuf, during a media briefing on Monday said this will change in the next three years as authorities in Saudi Arabia plans to cancel the grade D package service which Nigerian pilgrims have relied on to make hajj cheaper.

He said the cancellation is part of reforms that would see hajj handled by professionals and see government quotas reduced to 2 percent while tour operators will handle 98 percent of pilgrims.

He said the reform that was supposed to be implemented this year was postponed till next three years due to diplomatic efforts by the commission.

“If you understand the demography of pilgrims in Nigeria, you know that 80 to 90% of pilgrims from Nigeria are poor people who, out of commitment to their religion, save over time to be able to perform the sacred duty. So the majority of this class falls within the grade D package.

“Moving forward, the Saudi government is cancelling the grade D package because they believe that anybody who comes to perform Hajj should have the best experience.

“They are thinking about phased workforce training, so that anybody who is a Hajj administrator should also be professional.

No room for ad-hoc people handling Hajj administration anymore. There are going to be specialised training on logistics, on medical services, disaster management, and crowd control. All of that is going to be included in the packages for training.

“And they expect that unless you get certification for that, you are not going to be accepted as a Hajj manager,” he said.

He, however, assured Nigerians that the commission will still be playing its role to ensure pilgrims’ welfare will not be neglected.

He also said the commission is working with the state pilgrims welfare board to reconstitute themselves into a tour operator structure to evolve with the new reform. (Daily Trust)