*Photo: NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf*
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Chairman and CEO, Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf, on Wednesday called on stakeholders to engage with candour during the ongoing Stakeholders’ Summit on Post-2026 Hajj Review and the NAHCON Reform Agenda.
In his opening address at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja, Ambassador Yusuf emphasised the need for concrete resolutions to shape a stronger 2027 Hajj operation.
The summit brings together the entire “Hajj family” — regulators, operators, service providers, and international partners — for a thorough review of the just-concluded 1447AH/2026 Hajj season while laying the groundwork for 2027.
The NAHCON CEO expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the political backing that supported the 2026 operation and to Vice President Shettima for his sustained attention to Hajj matters.
He also thanked the Saudi leadership, particularly the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for the hospitality extended to Nigerian pilgrims.
While acknowledging successes such as an orderly airlift, improved visa processing via the Nusuk platform, enhanced medical services, and better coordination among stakeholders, the NAHCON Chairman was frank about shortcomings.
“We will not hide behind our successes,” he stated. “The season also exposed failures that this Summit must confront frontally — the circumvention of medical screening checks by 109 pilgrims, lapses in catering services in the Masha’er, gaps in service-provider compliance, avoidable pressure points in accommodation and transportation, and weaknesses in some of our own monitoring and enforcement instruments.”
He revealed that NAHCON has already begun rigorous post-season reconciliation with service providers, invoking accountability clauses in agreements. “The era in which contractual failure carried no consequence is over,” he warned. “Performance will henceforth determine patronage.”
The Chairman framed the summit as more than a review exercise, positioning it as a strategic response to Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 transformations in pilgrimage management.
He noted the digitisation of the Hajj value chain through platforms like Nusuk and Masar, and the Kingdom’s push to expand capacity significantly.
“Nigeria, as one of the countries with the largest Hajj pilgrims’ population on earth, cannot afford to be a spectator to this transformation. We must be a strategic partner in it,” he declared.
The new NAHCON leadership’s reform agenda includes:
*Early planning and enforcement of a predictable Hajj calendar.
*Development of a single National Pilgrimage Digital Platform for registration, payments, and services.
*Strict enforcement of service standards and professional accountability across all levels.
*Strengthened financial transparency and cost governance.
*Decentralised operations with strong central regulatory oversight.
*Comprehensive coordination of Umrah operations with consumer protection focus.
*Professionalisation through the Hajj Institute of Nigeria.
*Standardised pilgrims’ education in major Nigerian languages.
Ambassador Yusuf urged participants to treat Hajj operations with the precision of global aviation and mega-event management, emphasising data-driven planning, scientific scheduling, and performance-based monitoring.
He charged panellists and attendees: “Speak with candour, disagree with respect, and recommend with precision. We do not need speeches that flatter us, rather, we need constructive engagements that correct us and resolutions that bind us.”
The outcomes of the summit, he assured, will directly inform NAHCON’s 2027 Hajj roadmap and future engagements with the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Preparations for the 1448AH/2027 season have already been directed to commence.
“The Nigerian pilgrim is not asking for luxury. He is asking for order. She is asking for dignity,” the Chairman concluded. “That is a reasonable request, and under this reform agenda, it is a promise we intend to keep.”
The summit continues with plenary sessions expected to generate actionable recommendations for the coming Hajj season.