The fee paid for hajj is expected to cover accommodation, hotel, transportation (land and air) and feeding.
The 2024 hajj programme has been the subject of controversy in Nigeria.
The most recent controversy centres around poor welfare and poor treatment of pilgrims despite paying as much as N8 million for the 2024 hajj exercise.
The pilgrims recently noted that they were served pap and three portions of beancake as the meal.
They also lamented the poor accommodation provided for them in Saudi Arabia.
The fee paid for hajj is expected to cover accommodation, hotel, transportation (land and air) and feeding, findings by SaharaReportersshow.
The pilgrims are also expected to get a basic travel allowance upon arriving in Saudi Arabia.
The larger controversy around 2024 hajj started when it was reported that the Nigerian government decided to subsidise hajj with the sum of N90 billion.
Vice President Kashim Shettima was quoted to have stated this during the inaugural lift for the 2024 pilgrimage on May 18th. According to statements credited to him, the government took the decision to support the operations with N90 billion, given the economic situation of the country.
This development led to criticism from different quarters and anger from Nigerians.
More recently, pilgrims lamented the quality of food they were served despite paying N8 million for the 2024 Hajj activities.
The amount paid by pilgrims in 2024, is about three times the cost of the 2023 hajj in naira value.
In 2023, the cost of the pilgrimage stood at N2.9 million, with the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria blaming the dollar to naira rate for the increased cost of the operation in 2024.
According to data gotten from NAHCON by SaharaReporters, the official exchange rate used in 2023 stood at N456/ dollar, putting the hajj fee at US$6,401.31 per pilgrim.
The exchange rate for 2024 stood at N1,474 per dollar, meaning that hajj cost per pilgrim stood at US$5692.25. That is over $700 less than that of 2023, in dollar terms.
In this report, media delves into the expenditure around 2024 Hajj and brings exclusive findings.
On March 24, 2024, the National Hajj Commission announced pilgrims who had earlier paid N4.9 million were expected to add N1.918 million, bringing the sum of money they were expected to pay to N6.8 million. It blamed the increase on the differential in the dollar to naira rate from N897 to N1474 between December 31, 2023 and March 24, 2024.
According to data released by NAHCON, as of the time of the report that mandated an extra payment of N1.9 million by pilgrims, 48,011 persons across 33 states had paid N4.9 million.
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