Hajj 2023: Saudi Arabia approves 95,000 Hajj seat to Nigeria


. NAHCON distributes 75,000 Hajj slots to States, 20,000 to Tour Operators
 
As the preparation for 2023 hajj begins, the national hajj commission of Nigeria said it has received 95, 000 hajj slots from Saudi Arabias Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for 2023 hajj exercise.
 
This was revealed today in Makkah after the commission signed the 2023 hajj memorandum of understanding with Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
 
A statement signed by NAHCONS Assistant Director, Information and Publications Mousa Ubandawaki said the commission will distribute 75,000 to states Muslim pilgrims welfare boards/agencies while the remaining 20,000 will be distributes to NAHCON licensed private tour operators
 
The statement said One of the highlights of the document is the confirmation of 95000 Haj slots to the country in this year’s Hajj with 75,000 allocated to the 36 state pilgrims welfare boards /Agency/Commissions including the FCT and Armed forces, while 20000 is allocated to the private Tour operators.
 
 Meanwhile The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said it will welcome pilgrims to preform Hajj this year with the same numbers before COVID pandemic, according to the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah.
The minister also announced that the Kingdom will scrap all age requirements for pilgrims, after three years of restrictions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
Al-Rabiah made his remarks on Monday at the opening ceremony of Expo Hajj, the conference and exhibition of Hajj and Umrah services held in Jeddah from Jan. 9-12, 2023.
He said: From this years Hajj season we will allow Hajj missions from around the world to agree with any authorized company to provide services in the Kingdom.
Together with our partners, we launched NUSK platform to facilitate procedures and enrich the experience of the pilgrims.
He revealed that Umrah pilgrims insurance was reduced from SR235 to SR88 by 63 percent. Also, Hajj pilgrims insurance was reduced from SR109 to SR29 by 73 percent.
The minister said the Umrah visa was extended from 30 days to 90 days and allows its holder to move all around the Kingdom.

Any visitor to the Kingdom with any type of visa can perform the Umrah and visit Madinah, he added.
We worked with partners to enrich the cultural experience after performing the rituals and developing and activating Islamic historical sites related to the Prophets biography.
He said the Kingdom is working on rehabilitation of 100 Islamic historical sites during the upcoming years.

Al-Rabiah pointed out that the Kingdom invested over SR200 billion in infrastructure of the expansion of the Grand Mosque, which makes it the largest construction project in history.
 
We have not neglected the development of facilities and infrastructure, and we have worked with our partners to increase the seat capacity.
 
We established the largest airport in the Kingdom with more than SR40 billion to serve the pilgrims, which is King Abdulaziz Airport, he added.