The Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has warned the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, against raising intending pilgrims’ hopes of a reduced fare until all options are considered and decisions taken.
Recall that on Sunday, NAHCON had fixed this year’s Hajj fare at N4,899,000 for intending pilgrims from the southern part, while their counterparts from the north will pay N4,699,000, just as pilgrims from Yola and Borno states are to pay N4,676,000.
The announcement also came at a time when the exchange rate of the US dollar, which constitutes about 85% of Hajj expenses was hitting the roof on a daily basis.
Reacting, the IHR, in a statement signed Monday by its national coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, commended the NAHCON leadership for coming up with the most realistic Hajj fare for 2024 Hajj pilgrims.
The group, therefore, said the highest fare of N4.899 million indicates that the negotiation tactics employed by NAHCON have saved Nigerian pilgrims around N1.5 million each.
The Hajj reporters, however, said that, “the average cost of Hajj this year across the globe is about $6000 and based on the prevailing exchange rate in Nigeria, the fare for Hajj would have translated to over N6 million”.
The group recalled that a recent statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the commission had given details of the reduction of prices of vital services ahead of the announcement of the fare, thereby, raising the hope of the pilgrims that the fare may not be up to N4.5 million after all.
“For example, the statement said the “cost of accommodation in Madinah dropped from SR 2,080 (Saudi Riyals) of 2023 to SR 1,665 this year. Similarly, cost of accommodation in Makkah was negotiated at SR 3000 against SR 3,500 for the previous year.
“Pilgrims of 2024 Hajj will pay SR 4,770 for Masha’ir package (VAT inclusive) against SR 5,393 paid by last year’s pilgrims. For airfare, the Commission was able to beat down the cost with a $138 discount from what was paid last year”.
“This short analysis triggered the hope of a possible reduction in Hajj fare that will be below the initial N4.5 million promised by the NAHCON Chairman irrespective of foreign exchange rates. Intending pilgrims might not be aware of arithmetic intricacies involved in hajj fare computations,” the statement noted.
The group, however, said that contrary to age-long practice, the statement announcing the Hajj fare was silent on the amount of Basic Travel Allowance, BTA, that each pilgrim is expected to receive.
“We urge NAHCON to immediately inform all intending pilgrims how much they will be receiving as their BTA to aid their proper planning for the pilgrimage and also promote transparency and accountability,” the IHR said.
