The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has approved four banks to support and implement the Hajj Savings Scheme.
Taj Bank, Alternative Bank, and Lotus Bank will now operate alongside Ja’iz Bank to implement the savings scheme.
Abdulbasit Abba, an official in the Information and Publications Division of NAHCON, announced the development in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Abba stated, “A significant milestone for the Hajj Savings Scheme, three new Islamic banks—Taj Bank, Alternative Bank, and Lotus Bank—have officially joined the initiative to support Nigerian pilgrims. These banks will operate alongside Ja’iz Bank, bringing the total number of participating financial institutions to four.”
Official signing
The official signing and acknowledgement of the appointment letters took place at Hajj House in Abuja, where representatives from the three new banks received their official letters from the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). The Commissioner for Policy, Personnel, Management, and Finance, Prince Abdullazak Aliu, presented the letters on behalf of the Chairman/CEO, Prof. Abdullahi Usman.
“This expansion marks a new era for the Hajj Savings Scheme, ensuring a more robust financial structure to facilitate pilgrimage arrangements for Nigerian Muslims,” Abba noted.
Last year, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Malam Jalal Arabi, stated that every pilgrim who paid for the 2024 Hajj through the government quota was supported with the sum of N1.63 million due to the instability of the naira.
What you should know
- He explained that following the depreciation of the nation’s currency, occasioned by the foreign exchange reform of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), earlier payments made by intending pilgrims became inadequate.
- Consequently, the commission approached the federal government for assistance in approving a concessionary exchange rate of N850/$1 for intending pilgrims. Instead, the president approved a N90 billion intervention to assist the pilgrims, which NAHCON utilized.
- However, NAHCON later declared in October that the federal government will not provide a concessionary exchange rate for 2025 Hajj fare payments as it previously subsidised the exchange rate for Hajj payments to help reduce the financial burden on pilgrims.
This means that for the 2025 Hajj, pilgrims, whether travelling under state or private Hajj operators, will now have to pay the actual market rate, which could be significantly higher compared to previous years.
The cost of Hajj is projected to soar as high as N10 million per pilgrim if the naira retains its current exchange rate to the dollar.
