National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, is facing allegations of racketeering and unscrupulous practices in its selection process for ad hoc staff members for the 2025 Hajj operation.
This situation arises shortly after the NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Prof. Abdullahi Saleh-Usman, inaugurated the principal officers of the National Medical Team, NMT, and its Steering Committee for the upcoming 2025 Hajj.
The committee’s primary duty is to manage the selection, screening, and orientation of applicants for the national medical team.
The applicants consist of a variety of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics.
Sources revealed that over 30,000 health professionals have applied through the medical team portal, despite NAHCON’s intention to recruit only 300 medical personnel—a figure considered by observers to be excessive for the 50,000 pilgrims registered for this year’s Hajj.
Experts noted that Nigeria’s medical team is set to be larger than those from the 10 largest Hajj countries.
“It is pathetic. There is no criteria for picking the staff for 2025 Hajj as it used to be. It is clearly a case of extortion and crass nepotism,” one of the staff said.
Meanwhile, some NAHCON staff also expressed their displeasure over the priority given to those recently posted to the commission from outside in the allocation of Hajj seats.
“Many staff members who didn’t spend up to six months in NAHCON are now picked for the 2025 Hajj, leaving behind experienced staff,” one of the staff said.
This newspaper also found that aside the allegations of extortion, the management has also blacklisted some workers.
Further findings revealed that contrary to established tradition, not all management staff are being considered this year — which is generating bad blood in the commission.
“The leadership of the commission is handpicking staff without the consultation of their heads of departments as it used to be. We have situations where junior staff are handpicked while the of the department — a level 14 or even directorate cadre are left out,” another official confided on this newspaper.
Another official said traditionally all management and level 14 officials are shortlisted for the operation unless they have pending disciplinary cases.
“Workers facing disciplinary cases are being shortlisted against the standing rules. Others with no single query are not being considered because they are not in the good books of the people in the chairman’s office,” another top official in the commission said.
Contrary to the past where the NAHCON advance team travels to Saudi Arabia 10 days to the inaugural flight, the team is yet to travel nine days to the commencement of the airlift.
Insiders said they are billed to travel on May 5 — four days to the inaugural flight, which they said is pretty late.
