The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to probe the circumstances leading to the difficulties suffered by Nigerian pilgrims in this year’s Hajj to Saudi Arabia.
The resolution of the House followed a motion moved by Hon Ahmed Idris at the plenary on Thursday
The lawmaker said over 95,000 Nigerians participated in the holy exercise this year.
According to him, about 95, 000 slots were allocated to Nigeria and administered by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.
Moving the motion, the lawmaker stated that the 2023 Hajj recorded one of the largest turnouts in the annals of the yearly ritual with global media estimating the figure at over 2.5 million pilgrims
He lamented poor service delivery by some airline operators, including Arik which he said, was unable to airlift pilgrims on time due to inadequate aircraft.
The lawmaker further listed other challenges faced by Nigerian pilgrims including lack of adequate tent accommodation at Mina and Arafat; substandard tents with unhealthy living conditions and environment; lack of proper medical attention to pilgrims in cases of emergency; lack of proper transportation, among others.
According to him, Nigerians were made to miss their flights due to stringent bottlenecks regarding withholding of their international passports and; inability to secure airport slots for Nigerian airline operators for lifting Nigerian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia back to Nigeria among others.
He argued that over 25,000 Nigerian pilgrims, including those who paid for Tent A VIP Class, “were stranded at Mina due to inadequate tents and oversubscription leaving Nigerian pilgrims sleeping on the roads, under bridges, and nearby mosques as alternatives.”
The lawmaker stressed that there were cases of several public officials, such as present and former Governors, lawmakers who had no tent and were made to sleep under poor hygienic conditions and places.
He pointed out that VIP pilgrims were made to pay about $5,000 or 18,000 riyals for VIP tents, saying despite this exorbitant amount, pilgrims were stranded while others got tents of lesser value than what they paid for.
The House, therefore mandated “The Committee on Pilgrims Affairs (when constituted) to conduct a detailed investigation into the several anomalies that emanated from the 2023 Hajj and report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.”
