The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), has blamed state boards and private tour operators for the recorded cases of Nigerian pregnant women during the just concluded 2023 Hajj exercise.
The Commission however vowed that appropriate sanction will be meted out on those found guilty of the commission’s laid down rules and regulations.
Speaking in Makkah over the weekend on the post hajji operations on the just concluded Hajj exercise, the NAHCON’s Commissioner In-charge of Research, Statistics, Information and Library Services (PRSILS), Sheikh Suleman Momoh said that, it would tighten up its screening system in the subsequent years to forestall the participation of unauthorised pilgrims, saying that the scenarios was very embarrassing.
NAHCON also said in a vehement term that it would prevent those that are very old and weak to partake in the subsequent exercise without a guardian that will accompany them.
Sheilkh Momoh said that NAHCON did thorough pregnant tests which, he said, resulted into dropping of two NAHCON staff that were tested positive.
“We dropped two of our NAHCON staff that were tested positive after pregnant test. All efforts of those two staff to participate in this year Hajj fell in to commission’s deaf ears.
“We are going to act on pregnant women that attended this year Hajj and sanction those who ran fake pregnant test for them. The situation actually caused us a lot of embarrassments” he added.
He explained that one of them that gave birth prematurely to seven months old pregnancy due to the rigour of the exercise, eventually lost the baby, adding that of what benefit is her participation because the mother couldn’t perform the Hajj and the baby did not also survive.
Sheikh Momoh who doubles as the Takobi of Auchi Kingdom also revealed that Nigeria lost 20 pilgrims during this tear Hajj exercise, saying that some pilgrims were very old.,feeble and not fit for the rigour of the Hajj operations.
Also in his address at the briefing, the Commissioner in charge of Operations, Licensing and Tour Operators, Alhaji Abdullahi Magaji Hardawa, disclosed that the commission had so far airlifted over 5,000 pilgrims with a record of 17 flights for the homeward journey of pilgrims, insisting that the airlift with be on “last in, last out” basis.
Speaking on the welfare of pilgrims in Muna and Arahah, Alhaji Hardawa said the Saudi authorities had apologized to Nigeria over poor services at the two sites, saying that the commission had equally inuaugurated 8-man committee to look in to the matter for the attainment of necessary adjustmentsin the coming years.
He disclosed that the committee would submit its blueprint to the commission in the next three months for onward submission to the Government.
He said the commission under the Chairmanship of Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan is working round the clock to ensure that the return journey of pilgrims is very seamless.
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