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Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State has called for a review of the activities of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON.
The governor made the call on Sunday in a statement signed by Bologi Ibrahim, his Chief Press Secretary.
According to the statement, Governor Bago spoke in an interview with journalists in Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to assess this year’s Hajj operation.
He expressed concern over the way NAHCON turned itself into an operator of Hajj activities instead of playing regulatory roles.
The governor, who recounted the hitches pilgrims encountered, described the 2024 Hajj exercise as a failure.
He suggested that Hajj operations should be private sector-driven for effective and efficient service delivery.
Bago said that he will lead a committee of state governors to meet relevant authorities for a review of the commission’s activities.
“Let the private sector drive Hajj operations; NAHCON should be a regulator at the centre. I am leading a committee of governors to the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, from there, we go to the NEC. “I will propose this motion and we will send a bill to the National Assembly where this issue of NAHCON would be reviewed.
“NAHCON is not helping matters, our Federal Government is too big to be worried about Hajj operations, these are supposed to be local government issues and not even state issues,” Bago said.
