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Concerned over the delay in announcing the commencement of pilgrims’ registration for the 2025 Hajj by some States’ Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards and Agencies, a faith-based Civil Society Organization, CSO, that reports and monitors Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, (IHR), has called on state governors to give priority to the pilgrimage issues
CSO tasks govs on registration of pilgrims for 2025 Hajj

Concerned over the delay in announcing the commencement of pilgrims’ registration for the 2025 Hajj by some States’ Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards and Agencies, a faith-based Civil Society Organization, CSO, that reports and monitors Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, (IHR),
has called on state governors to give priority to the pilgrimage issues in their respective states.

The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed on Wednesday expressed concern that some states are yet to start registration even when they are expected to remit the first tranche of pilgrims’ deposits to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, starting from October 2, in accordance to the commission’s 2025 Hajj calendar for onward transfer to the Saudi-based service providers to pay for Tent spaces in Mina.

“As at the time of penning this press statement, Niger, Sokoto and Borno States are yet to kick start the registration exercise despite having received the directive from the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in August for states to begin registration.

“We are aware that some Executive Secretaries of Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards are yet to submit the 2024 Hajj reports to their Governors and as a result of which they are yet to get approval to start pilgrims’ registration from their Chief Executives,” the group stated.

It went further: “That the State’s Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards will need a separate approval from state governors to start pilgrims’ registration even after being given permission by the apex hajj regulatory body is a peculiar federating procedural headache for Hajj Industry that requires immediate solutions.”

“It is necessary to note that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj had on 23rd October began allocating tent spaces to Hajj participating countries that had made payments.

“Any Executive Secretary of State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board who has not submitted their 2024 Hajj report four months after 2024 Hajj should be removed and replaced with a more competent person.”

The CSO reminded the state governors that the delay in starting pilgrims’ registration by States Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards is the underlying cause of poor services being experienced by Nigerian pilgrims yearly in Saudi Arabia.

“Late registration gives birth to late remittances of pilgrims’ registration fund to NAHCON, which affects the commission’s inability to make payments to Saudi-based service providers as at when due to enable them to make adequate preparations to provide efficient services to our dear pilgrims.

“State administrative bureaucracies are causing serious disruptions to the implementation of the Hajj calendar and something needs to be done to tinker with the NAHCON Establishment Act, 2006, to allow pilgrims from states to start early registration without having to wait for the approval of state chief executives.

“Hajj is a global affair in which over 162 participating countries are expected to implement a uniform calendar released yearly as released by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj to serve as a guiding map for pre-Hajj preparations,” IHR noted.

CSO tasks govs on registration of pilgrims for 2025 Hajj

An erstwhile Nigeria’s Ambassador to The Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi, has said President Bola Tinubu of today is different from the one he knew in the days of their activism as members of the pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO. Farounbi made this statement on a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.
Policy changes: Tinubu not true to ideals he stood for – Former Envoy

An erstwhile Nigeria’s Ambassador to The Philippines, Dr Yemi Farounbi, has said President Bola Tinubu of today is different from the one he knew in the days of their activism as members of the pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO.

Farounbi made this statement on a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television on Friday.

He expressed concerns over the frequency of policy changes of the Tinubu administration that have made it impossible for businesses and common Nigerians to plan economically.

The former ambassador said Tinubu is ideologically somersaulting by not staying true to the ideals he stood for before he was sworn in as Nigeria’s President on May 29, 2023.

According to him, economic instability would persist so long as the President doesn’t restructure the country properly.

The ex-ambassador said, “If I have that opportunity, I am going to ask him (Tinubu) to look back at what he was. I am going to ask him to look at the letter he wrote to (former President Goodluck) Jonathan in 2012. I am going to ask him to look at the cases he took to the Supreme Court on local governments.

“I am going to ask him why is he ideologically somersaulting. Why is he not appearing as the Tinubu that we knew, why is not the Tinubu that was committed to the restructuring of this country, a Tinubu that was interested in a sovereign national conference, a Tinubu that was committed to true federalism?

“I’m going to ask him what had happened. Can he be true to himself? Let him be himself as he was in the past and I think that a lot of these problems will not be there.

Farounbi said the idea of a progressive is to be able to provide for the welfare of the people, to be able to provide food and jobs for the people.

Policy changes: Tinubu not true to ideals he stood for – Former Envoy