All stakeholders in the Hajj operations have been enjoined to start the planning for 2019 Hajj process in earnest.
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Chairman, Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad in a statement signed by Fatima Sanda Usara noted that consistent planning and constant reviews are mechanisms needed for successful Hajj outing.
He said this at a post Hajj joint meeting with chief executives of State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards/Agencies (SPWBs).
The meeting was to review salient challenges from 2018 Hajj with a view to finding solutions to them. At the end of the deliberations, some major decisions were taken.
Therefore all stakeholders are urged to start planning as if Arafat would be taking place soonest.
“Consequently, failure in training and retraining of staff, research, consultations, persistent monitoring and evaluation, strict compliance and evaluation are recipes for total Hajj operational failure which all stakeholders must work against.
“Late registration of pilgrims was identified as a major setback in the success of Hajj operations, hence, it was resolved that all state welfare boards should commence online registration of intending pilgrims.
“The meeting agreed to tentatively peg the Hajj fare at 1.5 million Naira (one million, five hundred thousand Naira) pending final calculations. If the fare is deposited by installments, it was agreed that all payment should be concluded by February 2019.
“Meanwhile, intending pilgrims are to note that Hajj registration is to be done online, cost of which is five-hundred Naira only (500 Naira only), and these charges are already included in the total Hajj fare. No extra amount is to be charged for purchase of Hajj form because Hajj form is obsolete.
“It was also resolved that as part of measures to safeguard timely planning, state welfare boards should propose a tentative date for airlift of their pilgrims and submit such resolutions to NAHCON within 30 days from date of this meeting,” the statement said.
