By Yakubu Musa, Mecca
Towards meeting the required standard of accommodation facilities for Hajj pilgrims, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, on Tuesday said it would take over the responsibility of providing accommodations in Mecca from states.
This is coming just as the commission put stringent measures to monitor the activities of the states’ pilgrim boards in the just-concluded Hajj.
The chairman of the commission, Abdullahi Mukhtar, revealed the plan during the post-Arafat stakeholders’ meeting held in Mecca.
Mr Mukhtar, who reappeared after his first speech specifically to make the announcement, expressed dismay over the rate of complaints the commission received over the nature of pilgrims’ accommodations in Mecca.
“It could be recalled that in 2015, I addressed a gathering like this, and there I said we should give the issue of Mecca accommodation a two-year mopping up period. I think today we are in 20017 and so we should consider that period expired.
“We just now need to do the needful in the interest of our pilgrims and our nation. Insha’Allah from now on, we shall sit with the states to see how we’re going to harmonize the Mecca accommodation just as we used to have in Madinah.
“I know there might be some level of resistance, but this is just what we have to do; you either be in the ship or you be on your own”, the chairman said.
The issue of pilgrims’ accommodations, considered to be lucrative, is one of the controversial aspects in the components of pilgrims’ services.
