Hajj: Group calls on Tinubu to intervene in the release of funds

By Musa Baba Adamu

As the 2024 Hajj operations commence, a critical stakeholders in the sector under the aegis of Hajji and Umarah Operators (HUO) have cried out to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the approval for the payments of funds for their services to Saudi Authority.
Making the appeal through Press Statement signed and issued in Abuja Abba Hamisu Sani, the National Coordinator, Society for Patriotic Journalists -Nigeria, the group feared that unless the President intervened urgently this year’s Hajj operations would suffer a major challenge.
It said Hajji and Umarah Operators were critical stakeholders in Hajji operations as they conveyed a significant part of Nigerians to Hajji and Umarah every year.
It said its decision to make the appeal was strengthen by Tinubu’s antecedent in the smooth Hajj operations, when he provided different interventions to this year’s intending pilgrims ranging from foreign exchange issues to providing cash instead of ATMS to the pilgrims.
It said it would however appeared that NAHCON was not out to complement President Tinubu’s effort of Strengthening the Private Sector.
It said the leadership of the National Hajji Commission (NAHCON) under the leadership of Jalal Arabi, was “frustrating their hard effort of searching for clients by delaying approval for the payments of funds for their services to Saudi Authority.”
The group decried that any further delay in the approval of the funds could cause them huge losses, hence this failure would endanger one of the sectors of businesses that President Tinubu is trying to protect.
It said the private operators were facing challenges from the regulatory body which ought to provide ways for them, from Nigeria and in the Holy land during this year’s (2024) Hajji.
“It will also tarnish the image of this sector in the eyes of their business partners from Saudi Arabia which by extension is part of Foreign Direct Investment which Nigeria’s President is hoping to attract more.”
It therefore, called on Mr President to give urgent attention to their appeal, warning that any further delay could cripple the sector.