The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the Forum of State Executive Secretaries of Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions agreed September 5, 2023 to peg the minimum deposit for Hajj 2024 at N4.5million (four million five hundred thousand), the Muslim pilgrims agency has said.
A statement by the NAHCON Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Hajiya Fatima Sanda Usara, said this became necessary in order to be in tandem with the dollar rate that will determine the final cost of the Hajj exercise.
The Commission said at the end of the meeting in September, all the stakeholders departed with the same resolution to inform the public that the minimum deposit for an intending pilgrim to be registered for the 2024 pilgrimage is N4.5million.
“The wisdom behind this minimum deposit revolved around three reasons. First, is for the states and the Commission to estimate how many pilgrims would be eligible to be counted as intending pilgrims at least by 4thNovember 2023, a time set by Saudi Arabia for the Commission to conclude preparatory meetings with service providers.
“Second, it was agreed in unison that with that amount, the top up residual by the time the final fare will be announced would be minimal compared to what may be required to balance up if the minimum deposit were to be set in a lesser sum. Besides, setting a lower deposit aggregate would be more challenging for a larger number of persons to top up should the end sum be on the high side thereby leading to miscalculations. This would be counterproductive to timely and accurate planning.
“Hence, and thirdly too, the Commission would have a more realistic figure to bargain for cost of accommodation, airline fares, feeding, and others knowing the number of persons that were able to reach the N4.5m threshold by the time of preparatory meetings,” the statement added.
