The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has blamed some erring licenced tour operators for the delay in the issuance of 1, 285 visas to intending pilgrims.
NAHCON stated this in a press statement signed by the commission’s assistant director, Public Affairs, Hajiya Fatima Sanda Usara, Thursday.
The commission said it had so far assisted licensed tour operators in the country to process 12, 277 hajj visas out of a total requests for 13,562.
NAHCON stated that the delay over the outstanding 1,285 visa applications was caused by defaulting tour operators.
The commission said: “Few Licensed Tour Operator Companies approached the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria to facilitate additional transfers into their IBAN accounts to process more travel documents for their clients.
“This is coming barely hours before Saudi Arabia suspends all visa activities for the 2024 hajj. Despite the fact that the tour operators’ association (Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators in Nigeria, AHUON) solicited for extension of the registration portal to 31st May 2024, yet, NAHCON approved up to 3rd June out of compassion. Still, some of the members continued to plead for further extension of registration to the extent that certain payments were made as late as 5th June, 2024.
“Without NAHCON’s intervention, please note that Saudi Arabian authorities would not have accommodated further visa processing for any category of Nigerian pilgrim up to this period. However, NAHCON did not turn away the Tour Operators’ appeals for additional payments knowing that they need to serve their clients to remain in business.
“Currently, out of 13,562 visa requests by the private hajj operators, the commission was able to intervene with the production of 12,277 visas for such operator companies that remitted their funds early and at the right foreign exchange rate. The remaining unprocessed visas correlate with those operators that paid their monies late.”
