Judul : Nigeria's Hajj Quota Dips to 50,000, CSO Sounds Alarm
link : Nigeria's Hajj Quota Dips to 50,000, CSO Sounds Alarm
Nigeria's Hajj Quota Dips to 50,000, CSO Sounds Alarm
A faith-driven civil society organization (CSO) operating within the Hajj and Umrah sector, known as Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), has expressed worries that Nigeria might lose its current allocation of 66,000 spots for the 2026 Hajj.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia have cautioned that if Nigeria does not meet the necessary payments within two weeks, this allocation might be permanently reduced to 50,000 slots.
To avoid this, IHR is urgently urging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the 36 state governors to support Nigerian pilgrims in securing their involvement in the 2026 Hajj.
Over the last two decades, Nigeria has received 95,000 Hajj permits each year, placing it within the top five nations that take part in the religious journey.
Nevertheless, the number of slots was lowered to 66,000 for 2026 because Nigeria did not fully use the 95,000 slots provided for the 2025 Hajj.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has directed Nigerian Hajj officials to complete all required payments within the next two weeks, similar to what other nations have done.
A statement released to the Nigerian Tribune on Wednesday, authored by IHR national coordinator Ibrahim Muhammad, who is currently in Saudi Arabia for pre-hajj preparations and participating in the fifth Hajj and Umrah conference in Jeddah, stated that the Saudi ministry warned of reducing Nigeria's pilgrimage quotas if the country did not meet the required payments within the specified period.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has provided the Nigerian Hajj authorities a period of 14 days to settle all required payments for their assigned quotas, as other nations have done.
The Ministry warns that it may decrease the Nigerian Hajj quota from the reduced number of 66,000 to 50,000 if the Nigerian Hajj Mission does not meet the necessary conditions.
"This marks the first instance where the Nigerian Hajj quota has been reduced to 66,000, with more cuts expected. Over the past 20 years, the Nigerian Hajj quota was set at 95,000," said the IHR.
The CSO, therefore, called on President Tinubu to mobilize state governors to quickly approve a loan that will finance the distribution to their respective states, and also ensure the funds are provided to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in order for the commission to carry out the required payments within the designated timeframe.
The IHR stated that if the government does not provide support in this matter, Nigeria could be downgraded from being a key Hajj participant and would be permanently restricted to 50,000 slots.
As stated, "Failure to provide support will lower Nigeria's status from a key Hajj participant nation, and the country will be permanently restricted to 50,000 slots since other nations are seeking higher quotas."
The IHR stated that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj established December 21 as the deadline for settling camp fees at the Mashaa’ir (holy sites of Muna, Arafat, and Muzdalifah) through the Nusuk Wallet.
It also mentioned that the Saudi authorities have reserved January 4, 2026, as the deadline for all Hajj participating nations to complete payments for camps and services.
Nevertheless, it highlighted that the payment process on the Nusuk app is slow.
IHR mentioned that the situation turned critical as their findings showed that the number of prospective pilgrims who had registered across the states was under 20,000, adding that this development placed NAHCON in a challenging position.
The CSO later explained that any sum approved as a loan would be returned to the state governments right after the pilgrims settle their travel costs.
It mentioned that it recognized that, "the late and slow preparations before the hajj led to a decrease in the number of registered pilgrims, combined with our tendency to always wait until the end of the month of Ramadan before pilgrims start rushing to make payments."
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