By Musa Baba Adamu
The Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a faith-based civil society organization that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
The CSO said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
IHR in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, said the quest for improved Hajj services had been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
It said: ‘’We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj.’’
The National Coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information showed that the new Company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, was an experienced provider that had served top-rated Hajj countries, such as Indonesia and Malaysia as well as ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The Company served 249 706 which is the largest number of hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.”
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON was planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for VIP pilgrims to avoid the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
However, the CSO urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected Service Providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage.
“Such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.”
