– Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto lead with 6,004, 5,934, 4,996
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON has commenced early the distribution of slots for Hajj 2024 to the 36 states’ pilgrims welfare boards, agencies, commissions, the FCT and the armed forces.
The document released by the Commission on Tuesday after its meeting with the representatives of States’ pilgrims welfare boards, agencies and commissions in Abuja showed that Nigeria retained the 95, 000 slot allocation for pilgrims again in the 2024 Hajj slated for next year.
The list also shows that Kaduna leads with 6004 pilgrims, followed by Kano and Sokoto with 5,934 and 4,996 allocation respectively.
Kebbi 4,752; Katsina 4,513 and FCT 4,368, Kwara 3,419, Bauchi 3,364, Borno 2,691, Gombe 2,506, Niger 3,592, Jigawa 1,518, Nasarawa 2,010.
In the Southwest, Lagos got the lion share with 3,517 slots; Osun 1,764; Oyo 1,386; Ogun 1,191; Ondo 491 and Ekiti has the least allocation with 246 slots.
Similarly, Edo has 412; Cross-River 67; Imo 199; Delta 64; Bayelsa 58; Anambra 15 while Enugu got 14 slots. Abia and Akwa-Ibom have zero allocations.
Chairman of the commission revealed that prospective pilgrims should expect high fare for hajj in 2024, considering the fluctuating nature of foreign exchange. Alh. Hassan noted that while hajj fare would be determined by dollar exchange rate, the cost of air fare and services in Saudi Arabia will also play major roles in the overall cost of 2024 Hajj.
The NAHCON boss revealed that Saudi authorities have announced that visa issuance to intending pilgrims will close 40 days before the date of Arafat, reminded hajj managers that the era of late entrance and concession to VIP is over.
” 2024 Hajj will be different entirely from what we used to have because of the new dimensions introduced by the Saudi authorities. For next year’s hajj, issuance of visa will be closed 40 to 50 days before Arafat. Unlike our tradition where we would issue visas to VIPs few days to Arafat, that practice is over.
”With the allocation of slots to states, preparation has commenced. Of course, we are still addressing some challenges faced during the last hajj in the area of limited space and shortage of food at Mina, we have written formal complaints demanding refund and apology. While awaiting that, we have forging ahead with 2024 exercise”.
