THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Malam Jalal Arabi, to its headquarters located in Jabi area of Abuja, this newspaper gathered.
Arabi, who is expected to be at the office of the anti-graft agency by 12:00pm today (Tuesday), will explain to the crack detectives of the EFCC how his commission spent N90bn subsidy provided for 2024 exercise.
Sources within the anti-graft agency, who are familiar with the matter, also confided in Daily Trust that Arabi would provide detailed explanations on how NAHCON shared thousands of dollars allocated to it for the pilgrims.
It was learnt that the anti-graft agency would be quizzing the NAHCON boss over a series of petitions against him and the commission over alleged maltreatment of pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during the 2024 exercise.
“We’re doing our job as prescribed in law without minding whose ox is gored. In the EFCC, nothing concerns us with religion or tribe, what is important for us is to tame financial crimes and other fraudulent activities in our society.
“As of now, NAHCON chairman has been invited, he will meet our crack detectives to provide explanations on some issues that border on financial transactions,” one of the sources, who is familiar with the matter told Daily Trust.
When contacted on the phone Tuesday morning, the spokesman of EFCC, Dele Oyewale, told our correspondent that he would find out about the invitation and other details and revert. He was yet to do so at the time of filing this report.
Earlier on Monday, Arabi told journalists at a press briefing that every pilgrim that paid for the 2024 Hajj through the government quota was supported with the sum of N1.6 million due to the instability of the naira.
According to him, following the depreciation of the nation’s currency occasioned by foreign exchange reform of the Central Bank of Nigeria, payments earlier made by intending pilgrims became inadequate.
He noted the commission approached the federal government for assistance to approve a concessionary exchange rate of N850/$1 for intending pilgrims.
The NAHCON boss, however, said instead, the president approved a N90 billion intervention to assist the pilgrims and that NAHCON used it to assist the pilgrims.
This newspaper had reported how Niger State governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, called for the scrapping of NAHCON due to its conduct of the 2024 hajj, vowing that he would lead its abolition.
Bago’s disappointment stemmed from the inadequate space given to Tent A pilgrims from Nigeria, which included some state governors who came for the pilgrimage as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen.