The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it has reached a significant preparatory stage with critical partners essential to the success of the 2022 Hajj operations.

The NAHCON chair Zikrullah Hassan disclosed this in his eid-el-fitr message to Muslims on Monday.

”By the special favour of the Almighty, we witness the end of Ramadan fast, glory be to Him that makes any situation possible. On behalf of my humble self, NAHCON board, management, and entire members of staff, I congratulate Nigerian Muslims for being alive to celebrate this joyous occasion of Eid-el-Fitr,” said the NAHCON boss.

He added, ”I pray that we have exited the holy month of Ramadan with an exalted demeanor than when we started. I also pray that the Almighty grants the supplications that we made for ourselves and for our country.”

Mr Hassan said the commission was exploring every possible window to minimise the inevitable increase in Hajj fare.

”It is in the light of this that I urge our intending pilgrims and other stakeholders to reciprocate NAHCON’s effort through timely payment of dues as soon as the final fare for Hajj 2022 is announced,” he explained. “A timely move in this direction will help management in determining the number of pilgrims the commission will be making arrangements for, which is an important paradigm for a successful Hajj.”

He revealed that NAHCON’s delegation to Saudi Arabia received a briefing on some policy guidelines pertaining to a few areas of hajj operation.

“The guidelines include, the restriction of four pilgrims to a room and the organisation of 45 pilgrims in a group under one supervisor. Details of the grouping procedure will follow subsequently,” added the NAHCON chief executive officer.

Mr Hassan, therefore, encouraged stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of organising such groups to start strategising to meet up with the requirements.

”Another new plan in this year’s hajj is that feeding in Masha’ir will be managed by the Mu’assasa; this is the Muna, Muzdalifah and Arafat domains where pilgrims relocate to for devotional retreat,” he further explained. “It is my strongest conviction that Hajj 2022 will be a success, if we resolve to collectively contribute our quota toward attaining a hitch-free 2022 Hajj operations.”

(NAN)