By Ayoni M. Agbabiaka Abuja
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has constituted a 21-member feeding committee to monitor and oversee feeding arrangements during the 2017 Hajj. Th is is to ensure that food served to pilgrims were of highest quality and quantity. NAHCON Head Media, Uba Mana, quoted the Chairman/CEO, Barrister Abdullahi Muhammed Mukhtar, as saying this while inaugurating members of the committee at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, recently. Muhammed charged the members to “undertake the assignment with utmost sense of responsibility and without fear or favour in the interest of our dear pilgrims.”
He stated that the uproargenerated by the increase Hajj fare made it imperative for the committee not to allow pilgrims to be shortchanged in the quality and quantity of food served them during the pilgrimage. Th e chairman further admonished the members to view the appointment as both a divine and national call to serve the pilgrims as well as the Almighty Allah, and therefore called on them to ensure that everything is done for pilgrims to get the best value for their money. “You are to, therefore, keep your eyes open, so that whenever you see or notice anything that negates the letters and wordings of the terms of agreement with the caterers, you must not only blow the whistle, but you can raise the alarm until the noticed wrongs or anomaly is remedied or rectifi ed” he said. He added that the policy that necessitated the reforms of organising food services for pilgrims is aimed at preventing food related diseases and illegal food vending.
To demonstrates its seriousness, Saudi Arabia made the policy an integral part of condition for granting Hajj Visa, “so you, therefore, must work towards ensuring that the essence of the reform is not defeated by making sure that pilgrims’ food are served timely and in good quantity and quality” In his response the Committee chairman, Mallam Shehu Makarfi said: “I want to thank the Commission for the trust and confi dence reposed in us. I also want to assure that we will do the best we can by making sure that the foods served are of the highest quality and standards. And any mistake we identifi ed will be corrected or remedied immediately
Israeli embassy intercepts 21 Nigerians with forged documentsEmbassy of Israel has intercepted an organised visa-fraud group involving 21 Nigerians. In a statement yesterday by its Senior Media & Political Offi cer, Tony Obiechina, said it detected the fraud through the use of advanced tools and techniques. It said the embassy had reported the matter to appropriate authorities in Nigeria for further action.
“Th e Embassy was able to detect the fraud by making use of Israel’s advanced tools and techniques to fi sh out fraudulent applications,” the statement said. “Th e Embassy does not usually publicise issues like this, but due to the number of people involved and the organized method, it is important to keep the people informed about these developments so that we can collectively improve the system.\
“Th ese acts hurt the reputation of Nigeria and elongate the visa processing time for genuine applicants. “All the relevant details and the names of the people involved have been submitted to the appropriate authorities.” While throwing more light on the matter, Obiechina told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that the 21 Nigerians used a forged letter to apply for visas. “I am happy to state that documentations in terms of visa racketeering have gone down tremendously,” its outgoing chairman, Ekpo Nta, had said.
“I think in 2013 we seized over 300 passports from this visa scam and we have advised the embassies on steps they should take to make sure that their visa application processes are simplifi ed. “I am happy to state that the UK government found this advice very useful and they sent somebody here to thank the commission and because of this advice we gave them they have changed visa request processes online world over.”
