The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has amended its contract with Saudi-based service provider Mashariq al Dhabia to ensure a seamless 2025 hajj exercise.
The agreement, signed on Saturday by NAHCON Chairman Prof. Abdullahi Usman and Mashariq al Dhabia Chairman Muhammad Hassan, aims to enhance arrangements for Nigerian pilgrims.
Usman dismissed speculations about the contract’s cancellation, stating that the adjustment was made to improve service quality.
“NAHCON and Mashariq al Dhabia share one goal: to serve Nigerian pilgrims excellently,” he said.
He added that Hassan and his team visited NAHCON’s headquarters to finalize plans for the upcoming pilgrimage.
Hassan, expressing gratitude for a safe journey from Mecca to Nigeria, assured that pilgrims would receive better services during the hajj exercise.
Preparations for 2025 pilgrimage was a subject of controversy recently when reports surfaced that he Saudi company, Mashariq Al Dhahabiah Al Mutawazi, had in a letter dated addressed to the head of Nigerian pilgrims’ affairs office in Makkah, claimed that the NAHCON breached its contract agreement which provided that it would be the sole service provider for Nigerian pilgrims during the Hajj exercise, especially in Muna and Arafah.
It gave the commission 20 days to normalise all the agreements signed by the two parties failing which it would take the NAHCON to an international arbitration panel.
NAHCON chairman, Professor Usman had responded that the commission was not in receipt of any letter from the Saudi firm, adding that he had written to the firm through his lawyers to formalize and consolidate the clauses of the contract the two parties entered on providing welfare services to Nigerian pilgrims, saying the matter had been put to rest.
“We could have cancelled the contract, but we chose to maintain a cooperative spirit despite the unfounded claims against us,” the NAHCON chairman stated.
NAN
