The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has regretted its inability to airlift 1,550 intending pilgrims to this year Hajj.
The commission stated this in a statement in Abuja.
The affected intending pilgrims are: Nine (9) pilgrims from Bauchi state; 91 pilgrims from Plateau state; 700 pilgrims from Kano state and an estimated 750 pilgrims from the Private Tour Operators sector.
NAHCON said the intending pilgrims could not be airlifted before closure of Jeddah airport on July 6.
The affected Muslims had fully paid and prepared for this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca but could not make the trip.
It promised that all the affected pilgrims will be refunded their Hajj fares, promising to work towards improving its deficiencies.
“NAHCON has learnt a lot of lessons and is determined not to have a repetition of the unfortunate situation.
“Management knows that no number of apologies could pay for the disappointments some Muslim faithful are currently experiencing as a result,” it said.
NAHCON in the statement said it “owes deep and unreserved regrets to entire intending pilgrims to 2022 Hajj for the hardships and disappointments experienced during outbound airlift operations to the holy land. NAHCON regrets all inconveniences.”
The Commission also apologised to the federal government, State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, Private Tour Operators, and the general public for any embarrassment the situation of the past few weeks might have caused.
“Sadly, despite all efforts to airlift all Nigerian intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2022 Hajj, NAHCON was incapacitated in discharging this responsibility fully, majorly due to last minute setbacks that frustrated its plan to conclude airlift of pilgrims by 27th June of this year.
“Unfortunately, the chartered flights option that gave so much hope to NAHCON and the Private Tour Operators’ leadership also became a failure as their IBAN accounts failed accreditation by the respective authorities in Saudi Arabia,” the statement said.
