The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, has released over N820 million (N820,283,965) as refund to state Muslim pilgrims welfare boards and agencies for 2017 Hajj operations.
The refunds consist of about N181 million for pilgrims and officials of states that could not travel for the pilgrimage and N209 million refundable deposits from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj.
It also consists of refunds for catering services that were either not rendered or poorly rendered for which the commission did not pay the service providers. This was about N46.1 million.
Other refunds, according to Adamu Abdullahi, NAHCON spokesperson, in a statement Tuesday, consists of “sums for poorly rendered tent-C services, faulty cooling systems at Arafat for which the total sum of N278 million was demanded and collected by the commission from the organisation responsible,”
The refunds, he added, also comprise N1.5 million for states that did not receive Zam-zam water.
“The refund, which was done in two batches, witnessed eleven state pilgrims boards receiving a total of N401,291,658.41 in December 2017, while 13 pilgrims boards and agencies received N418,992,307.77 as the second batch in 2018 after reconciliations,” Mr. Abdullahi said.
NAHCON advised all concerned pilgrims to check with their respective state pilgrims boards and agencies for collection.
“The refund exercise will be monitored by NAHCON and appropriate security agencies nationwide. NAHCON also directs that any refunds not collected should be returned to the Commission,” the agency said.