) Vice- President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for achieving a seamless 2026 Hajj operation.
Shettima made the commendation when the Board and Management of NAHCON, and representatives of the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards, paid him a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the delegation met with the vice president to brief him on the just concluded 2026 hajj operation.
Shettima, who applauded the efforts of NAHCON, state pilgrims welfare boards and other stakeholders, congratulated them on the seamless operation.
He said the performance of the team in the 2026 operation should be the model and benchmark going forward.
“Particularly as authorities move towards adopting a more sustainable model that guarantees 100 per cent hitch-free pilgrimage.
Earlier, the Chairman of NAHCON, Amb. Ismail Yusuf, gave a summarised report of the 2026 hajj operation.
He lauded Shettima for making decision in line with the Saudi authorities to migrate to a more sustainable business model.
Yusuf said the move by the Saudi authorities to cede the handling of 98 per cent of pilgrims to private tour operator patronage was in pursuit of the government’s vision 2030.
According to him, vision 2030 encourages a business to business model, with NAHCON maintaining its regulatory role while ceding operational aspects of hajj to the private sector.
He said the commission remained fully committed in delivering on the new task, noting that plans were already in motion to actualise the objective.
NAN reports that over 38,000 Nigerian pilgrims performed the 2026 hajj rites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
