* Says everyone is carried along, according to the rule
* Calls for unity ahead of pilgrimage
The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, Professor Saleh Usman, has strongly denied accusations levelled against him that he crippled the works of the Commission Board, insisting that, “every member’s entitlements are accorded to them according to the rules of the office”.
Muslim News gathered that the NAHCON non-executive board members had written a petition, titled, “Deliberate exclusion from the oversight functions” to the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, alleging the Commission’s boss of gross misconduct.
They accused Prof Saleh of excluding them from their statutory oversight responsibilities in the commission.
The six-page petition dated 13th March 2025 was signed by the eight NAHCON non-permanent commissioners representing the six geo-political zones and the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, and Jama’atul Nasril Islam, JNI.
The signatories to the petition are Professor Muhammad Umaru Ndagi (North-central), Alhaji Abba K. Jato (Northeast), Shaykh Muhammad Bn Uthman (Northwest), Hajiya Aishat Obi (Southeast), Zainab Musa (South-south), Dr Tajudeen Abefe Oladejo (Southwest), Professor Adedimeji Mahfouz Adebola (NSCIA), and Professor Musa Inuwa Fodio (JNI).
Responding to the allegation, in a statement he personally signed on Saturday, Prof Saleh said it’s imperative for him to clear allegations and complaints by some non-executive board members of the Commission against him.
According to him, “Some of the claims include their non-inclusion in procurement activities, purchase of official vehicles for non-executive members, lack of access to my office or deliberate refusal to attend to them, non-payment of board members’ entitlements/allowances, and the role and status of non-executive board members.
“It is imperative to note that by virtue of their position, these non-executive board members have no specific role, in either the Procurement Act or the NAHCON Act, particularly in procurement and administrative activities.”
He added: “The provision of Rule 2 of the NAHCON Act clearly states the status and functions of all members of the board. It says “The Chairman and three full members of the Commission shall serve on full-time basis. The remaining six members, at least two of whom should be women, shall serve on part-time basis.”
Professor Saleh said the claim of the board member representing Northeast, Alhaji Abba Jato, whom he considers as the most honourable and humble, is also baseless.
“Before my coming to the Commission as the Chairman, it was the tradition to take 2 members of these non-executive board members to participate in the pre-visit contingent.”
“Therefore, during the Commission’s first pre-Hajj visit to the KSA under my leadership, two (2) of these non-executive members namely: Hajia Aisha Obi, a representative of the South East, and Alh Abba Jato, a representative of the North East, were nominated to participate and they actively participated in all the pre-visit exercises. They were also fully paid, all their travelling allowances, which includes air tickets, visa, estacode and telephone & local transport.”
He said these records are available in the Commission, and that there was no time a board member was co-opted at the Kingdom to partake in any of the off-shore activities or sponsored himself or herself for any pre-Hajj visit, as claimed by Alh Abba Jato.
“In the same vein, during the last Ramadan Umrah monitoring exercise, two (2) other non-executive members were equally nominated to partake in the exercise. They are: Dr. Tajuddeen Abefe, a representative of the South West, and Sheykh Muhammad Bin Usman, a representative of the North West, and they were fully paid all their entitlements,” the NAHCON boss said.
On the claim that non-executive board members were not given official vehicles, Prof. Saleh clarified that there is no provision in the NAHCON Act or any other provision or approval that supports it, and that the Commission has never bought any such vehicles for any member in the past.
“Also, the claim that non-executive board members could not access the Chairman’s office is not true. It is a well-known fact that since I assumed office, I operate an open-door policy, not only for the board members but for all the staff of the Commission, all stakeholders and even official visitors. In fact, it was a big surprise to me to hear this allegation particularly from Hajia Aisha Obi, a representative of the South East Zone.”
“This member was to some extent mistaken as part of staff of my office because of her frequent presence in the domain of the office. Most times, she spent hours inside my office even after we have exhausted the official matters she brought.
“Similarly, Dr. Tajudeen Abefe, a member representing South West, is also a familiar face in my office. He equally brings issues and I always gave him all the necessary attention.
“Another baseless claim by these members is that of non-payment of their entitlements. This allegation is also false, because to the best of my knowledge there is no member that has been denied any of his or her entitlements, either sitting, travelling or estacode allowances, and if there is any of such oversight, it was never brought to my desk for my attention.
The Chairman expressed his profound displeasure with the behavior and manner of some of these non-executive members, for their deliberate inability to report or even advise him on any of these allegations.
“As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, I think I deserve to be informed on any of the above mentioned claims, to enable me take appropriate action accordingly,” he said.
“However, to me I now felt that, those who are perpetrating all these allegations have no other motive than to distract the attention of the Commission in order to sabotage the already planned 2025 Hajj operation.”
He called on all executive and non-executive members of the board, all members of NAHCON staff, State Executive of Muslims Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Commissions/Agencies, Private Operators and other relevant stakeholders to come together, unite as a single NAHCON family and put all hands on deck, in order to have a successful and hitch-free hajj operation.
Prof Saleh commended President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for their belief in him and also their efforts in ensuring a 2025 hitch free hajj operation.
He assured the President and the Vice President that the 2025 hajj pilgrimage would be one that the country would be proud of.
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