Federal Government to spend N90 billion for pilgrimage subsidy even as students loan budget is N50 billion
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government has allocated N90 billion for the 2024 Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, the two holy sites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to an exclusive Daily Trust report, the money was released to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), the government agency coordinating travel of Muslim pilgrims.
Quoting a source, the newspaper said without the intervention, each of the intending pilgrims would have been requested to add at least N3.5 million to the initial fare which was pegged at N4.9 million.
The report said a top official at the Presidency also confirmed that the federal government “actually provided some financial support for the hajj exercise”.
Recall that the NAHCON had, in December last year, fixed a fare of N4.9 million per pilgrim based on the exchange rate of N897 to a dollar.
In announcing the fare at that time, the commission had quoted the sum of N4,899,000 for southern pilgrims; N4,699,000 for those from the North; while pilgrims from Yola and Maiduguri centres were asked to pay N4,679,000.
Through a statement issued on Sunday by its spokesperson, Fatima Usara, the hajj commission had raised the fare by N1, 918,032.91, jacking up the total amount to N6.8 million.
The commission had also said intending pilgrims had up to yesterday (March 28, 2024) to make payment for the spiritual exercise.
The NAHCON had attributed the latest hike in hajj fare to the foreign exchange crisis which Nigeria has been battling for months.
