THE National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has sponsored a fierce critic of President Bola Tinubu, Mr Abdulmajid Almustapha Danbilki (Danbilki Kwamanda) to Saudi Arabia for Hajj — where he launched vicious attacks on the president and APC governors in the holy land.
Kwamanda was sponsored by the NAHCON Chairman Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman as part of the government- funded “stakeholders” team.
He was flown to the holy land via Air Peace with a pilgrim Serial No: 147AP and passport No: B50160345, according to findings by this newspaper.
An official document sighted by this newspaper that contained names, serial numbers, passport numbers, and phone numbers of the official “stakeholders” shows that NAHCON had sponsored 693 people under this category.
This means that at an average of N8.5 million per pilgrim, the commission must have spent a total of N5,890,500,000 (N5.89 billion) on Mr Kwamanda and other stakeholders alone.
Surprisingly, a tent space of 1,000 pilgrims in Mina was booked and paid for by NAGCON under the same 693-man stakeholders’ team, according to an official report by the NAHCON Tent Coordination Committee for 2025 Hajj Operation.
The five-page document was signed by the head and secretary of the committee Babagana Bukar and Hammajam Shafiku A.
Mr Kwamanda was one of the 693 officials the commission expended nearly N6 billion on their trip alone. He is not alone. There are dozens other siblings of arch political enemies of the Tinubu administration that were sponsored to Hajj by NAHCON under the “stakeholders” category.
Mr Kwamanda became prominent not only because of the series of attacks he launched on President Tinubu and the APC in Nigeria, but the audacity he had to rain curses and invoked fire and brimstone on the president and the ruling party governors from Saudi Arabia in a viral video message he published on his YouTube channel and Facebook page.
In the live video recorded from the posh hotel room NAHCON provided for him in Makkah, the Atiku Abubakar’s staunch supporter, had cursed the North-West governors for endorsing Tinubu for a second term.
In the video, Kwamanda said the masses in the North are not with Tinubu and APC and they would ensure the party’s downfall in 2027 elections.
He said President Tinubu had betrayed the North and he would pay for it in the forthcoming elections.
“It is shameful that governors from the North-West, including former Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, had endorsed President Tinubu who did not do anything for the North. These leaders are shameless,” he said in Hausa in the video.
Mr Kwamanda said that, “since the governors, Ganduje and DSP Barau Jibrin have endorsed President Tinubu, let me inform you that the Northern masses are not with you on this and they would fight you at the appropriate time. May God punish you for betraying your people.”
The opposition politician added that “we have disassociated ourselves from the Tinubu’s endorsement because we are not slaves to Gandiuje or any of the governors.”
He said the North-West governors, Ganduje and DSP Barau have endorsed Tinubu because of their selfish interest and those of their siblings.
“For DSP Barau, we are surprised that you have followed Ganduje to endorse Tinubu. We know Ganduje is a very insensitive politician who doesn’t care about his constituents.
“We assure you that Northern masses are not with you and we are ready to fight you to standstill for endorsing Tinubu. We hate you for that,” Kwamanda said.
A NAHCON staff member who spoke to this newspaper after watching the video said he was appalled that NAHCON chairman would sponsor Kwamanda to Hajj.
“It is embarrassing to watch that video recorded in his hotel room in Makkah paid for by NAHCON. This is despite the fact that Hajj is not a political campaign arena. But Danbilki Kwamanda was sponsored to Hajj by the APC government and he audaciously used the opportunity, not to pray to God, but to rain curses on President Tinubu, the APC governors and the APC government. This is truly sad,” the official who declined being named for fear of victimization said.
The official, however, said “it is all the fault of the NAHCON chairman who sponsored him to Hajj to rain curses on our leaders. I remember watching the NAHCON chairman swearing that he was loyal to Tinubu and he won’t betray the president’s trust. But sponsoring Danbilki Kwamanda, a known adversary of the president and his administration to Hajj, is the biggest betrayal of trust and clear-cut sabotage to the president and his government,” the NAHCON senior official said.
Insiders have urged the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC) to probe the stakeholders sponsorship and the funds expended on it.
“The anti-graft probe is expedient because of the series of allegations that a sizeable number of the stakeholders seats were actually sold at exorbitant prices by some people in the commission.
“By this, only a forensic audit of the NAHCON accounts — particularly the approval of the number of stakeholders and the money approved for it can rest the matter. The alleged cases of racketeering of the stakeholders slots needs to be thoroughly investigated for probity and good governance,” an official of the commission, who spoke in confidence, said.
The staffers also called for investigations into the alleged frivolous spendings by the commission in booking additional 307 tent spaces for non-existing pilgrims. “NAHCON spent nearly one million Saudi riyal (307x 3,000 Saudi riyal) in payment for tent space for non-existing pilgrims under the stakeholders team alone. This fraud must be investigated, else the commission would soon go bankrupt if this is allowed to fester,” another official said.