The Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria has said the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria is owing its members over N15 billion.

The association’s President, AbdulLateef Ekundayo, made the allegation in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

According to him, it is the practice of the Saudi Government after each Hajj operation to refund money to countries on three grounds.

They include services paid by pilgrims but not rendered, services paid for but poorly rendered to the agreed standard and tent security deposits.

The statement indicated, “Our members are being owed all these categories of money from 2022 hajj to date by the commission. They confirmed in our meeting with them that they have received the sum of 20 million Saudi Riyals of such refund from the Saudi authorities since December 2023.”

According to Mr Ekundayo, the commission has yet to formally notify them of the money, adding, “Talk less of agreeing on the modalities of the refund’s payment.

He said, “Even these 20 million Saudi Riyals, if not for the
investigation EFCC conducted on the commission, we wouldn’t have known that it has been paid since December 2023.  We only got to know through media reports before they confirmed to us at our last meeting. What stopped them from calling the tour operators since December 2023 to come forward to claim their money? They kept quiet.”

He said that during the recently concluded 2024 hajj, NAHCON received and warehoused over N2.7 billion as caution deposits from tour operators.

Mr Ekudayo said, “By our agreement with the commission, the funds were to be released two weeks after the conclusion of the hajj. NAHCON has refused to refund any of the companies that applied for it; instead, they are asking for more money as an increase to the 2023 hajj deposit.

“From the year 2004 to date, the commission has attested to have held our members’ funds through several engagements,
unused visa, excess payments and Umrah deposits.”

He expressed concern that the commission had not shown any sign of refunding such funds.

Mr Ekundayo added, “In fact, our agreement with the commission to publish the list of the companies under this
category since 2023 has not been met. It is worth noting that many of our members have passed on waiting for these refunds.”

The president added that for many years, some members of the association had millions of Saudi Riyals’ balances in their Saudi accounts which they couldn’t access.

He stated, “For over three years now, we have engaged the commission to facilitate the release of those funds to our members, but it refuses to do anything about the issue. Apart from the above refund issues, we requested the commission to accept bank guarantees, which their Act permits, in place of cash deposits, considering the perennial challenges we have been facing with refunds. It is worth noting that our members receive nothing as income from the amount we deposit annually.’’

NAHCON assured that it would address legitimate concerns raised by the association.

The commission’s Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

Ms Usara said, “While we acknowledge the issues raised regarding accumulated refunds, it is important to clarify that NAHCON has been in continuous communication with AHOUN on this matter. The delay in resolving certain financial issues stemmed from the complexities of hajj operations, which involve multiple stakeholders, both locally and internationally, including Saudi authorities. NAHCON wishes to reassure AHOUN and the public that it has no intention of downplaying or neglecting the issue of refunds.’’ 

(NAN)