The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has appealed to the State Welfare Boards to forward manifests of their intending pilgrims to its Madina office 24 hours before arrival.

NAHCON’s Medina committee head on passport management control, Aliyu Abdulhameed, made the appeal in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Abdulhameed said the appeal became necessary to ease the issuance and activation of the NUSUK card for the pilgrims as they arrive.

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has made it mandatory for pilgrims from all countries participating in the 2025 hajj to have a NUSUK card with their details.

The ministry explained that the card was used to identify genuine pilgrims easily and gain access to the holy sites in Makkah, Madina, and Masha’ir.

Mr Abdulhameed said his committee was saddled with getting the NUSUK card for Nigerian pilgrims.

“Since their arrival in the Kingdom on May 5, the committee has been working round the clock to get the cards ready before the arrival of Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

“Though, they work nonstop to achieve the maximum results, we also appeal to all stakeholders particularly the state welfare boards to forward manifest of their intending pilgrims to the Madina office 24 hours before the arrival of the pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“This will ease the issuance and activation of the NUSUK card for the pilgrims as they arrive,” he said.

(NAN)