Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHOUN) has demanded a refund from the Saudi firm Mutawwif (Ithra Alkhair) which handled the camping tents and the feeding of pilgrims in Mina and Arafat during the just concluded 2024 hajj exercise.
The company is responsible for the welfare of African non-Arabs on pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The association in a press statement signed by its national president, Alhaji Abdulmojeed Ekundayo, alleged that their pilgrims were subjected to untold hardship ranging from inadequate convenience (toilets) at service center 18, acute shortage of space, overcrowding, poor supply of food and other necessities that made pilgrims suffered unbearable difficulties.
Ekundayo knocked the Saudi firm for subjecting the pilgrims to hardship and urged the company to immediately reconcile with their members to refund every single service that wasn’t provided both in Muna and Arafat during this year’s hajj due to their actions and inactions.
The body also urged the Saudi firm to refund, with immediate effect, all their outstanding claims for unutilized visas for the 2022 Hajj and the failed service provision for last year’s Hajj (2023).
“There was only one toilet block that served over 2000 pilgrims. This has led to hardship for the pilgrims. A situation where a person spent a minimum of 30 minutes on queue to pass urine is not right by any standard. At the same service office 18, there was an acute shortage of space to accommodate the number of pilgrims that arrived late to Muna on the day of Tarwiyya, which necessitated the opening of another camp about 300m away. The logistics in terms of supply of food and other necessities to the new camp made pilgrims suffer unbearable difficulties. Same challenges of space shortage affected the Arafat experience at Service center 18. People were jam-packed in an inhuman condition in some tents, while several decided to stay outside in the scorching heat of the day of Arafat,” Ekundayo said.
The AHOUN boss however attributed the hardship suffered during the just ended Hajj exercise to the refusal of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to remain within its regulatory purview as a regulator and umpire in the Hajj project, alleging that the commission has turned itself into an operator, directly participating and gaining monetary return in any aspect of the operation.
“The refusal of NAHCON to allow us to try another experience with the new Mutawwif despite the failure of the current Mutawwif for several years to get things right. It was on record that last year we searched and recommended 2 new Muttawwif to the Commission for approval, however, we were forced to settle on the same old Mutawwif. We are determined to resist any arrangement in the future where the Commission will continue to determine the faith of our pilgrims at the detriment of our members,” Ekundayo said in the statement.
The association further called on NAHCON to stop all charges on their members including the dollar equivalent they pay as service fees following the new policy of government withdrawal of subsidy on Hajj matters.
“Our members paid over N1.9 Billion as services charge to the Commission this year alone, at the rate of $100 per pilgrim. We severely kicked against the dollarization of the Hajj operation, but the Commission continued to do that to the detriment of the unsuspecting Hujjaj. What happened to the component of the international pilgrims out of the N90b approved Hajj subsidy? Aren’t they Nigerians?
“While we agreed that NAHCON has the right to charge licensing fees, we believe the Hajj license is the most expensive of any licensing regime in Nigeria. How can anyone justify a fee of N1m for a license with only two-month validity,” the statement added.