NAHCON in need of systemic reform, says Gbajabiamila

Kunle Sanni

The Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Deputy Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Hadeija, have called for reforms within the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to address issues of financial mismanagement, negligence, maltreatment of pilgrims, and late preparation for pilgrimage exercises.

The Presidency officials made these remarks during a fact-finding visit to the NAHCON headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday as part of their engagement with government agencies under the supervision of the State House.

Earlier in the day, they also visited the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), where Gbajabiamila highlighted the potential role of states in providing funding to the Agency through an insurance scheme or other means.

Addressing the challenges at NAHCON, Gbajabiamila stated: “This is a Commission that should not be found in any controversy, simply because of its mandate and what it represents. It’s a religious commission set up to fulfill religious and spiritual obligations for men and women of faith.

“We are always surprised, even from the time I was Speaker, when issues that should never arise come up in relation to this Commission. Pilgrims travel every year to fulfill an Islamic religious obligation. When they are there, they are ambassadors of Nigeria.

“As ambassadors of Nigeria, they are expected to carry the emblem and the flag of Nigeria with pride and to represent who we are in both demeanor and conduct. However, many times, our pilgrims face maltreatment or lack of proper organization from this Commission, which affects their behavior and experience.

“The buck stops with the Commission, and you must accept responsibility for what goes on here and in Saudi Arabia when Nigerian pilgrims are there,” he said.

Regarding the recent controversy that led to the appointment of a new Executive Chairman, Gbajabiamila urged the management staff to work closely with the Office of the Vice President, which oversees the agency, to identify past mistakes, make corrections, and ensure seamless operations for pilgrims.

“What happened has happened, and we are here to chart a way forward. It is time for the Commission’s system to be reformed to align with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

Gbajabiamila expressed optimism for a new chapter in the Commission’s operations, emphasizing, “Hajj is not supposed to cause pain to the pilgrims.”

The Deputy Chief of Staff echoed the Chief of Staff’s position, emphasizing the need for early preparation for Hajj operations.

“Hajj is essentially a big logistics operation. I was involved in the 2024 operation, and one of the key lessons learned is the need for early preparation. Nigeria has the largest quota of pilgrims from Africa, and we have countries with quotas smaller than those from a single state in Nigeria.

“The Hajj Commission also needs to be more transparent about what pilgrims are paying for,” Hadeija said.

In his remarks, Malam Abdulrazak, NAHCON’s Executive Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management, and Finance, called for an overhaul of the Commission’s accounting system and an improvement in federal character representation within the organization.

“The Commission is described as a national entity, but the federal character is not fully represented. The nominal roll is dominated by a particular region,” Abdulrazak said.

At NEMA, the Chief of Staff stressed the need to shift disaster management in Nigeria from a reactive to a proactive approach.

Emphasizing the importance of prevention over mitigation, Gbajabiamila noted that many disasters in the country could be avoided with better preparation and early warnings.

“NEMA’s mandate is two-pronged: prevention and mitigation of disasters. However, it appears we concentrate more on mitigation and neglect prevention. We must focus more on prevention, as many of these disasters can be avoided,” he said.

On funding challenges at NEMA, Gbajabiamila suggested exploring creative funding methods, including state contributions through an insurance scheme.

“What is the role of the states? How do they come in? Should we amend the legislation to make it clear that states contribute through an insurance scheme? These disasters occur in the states. There’s no land called federal government; every disaster is local,” he said.

The discussions at the meeting, attended by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Permanent Secretary State House, Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Administration and Operations (Office of the Chief of Staff), Mrs. Oyinade Nathan-Marsh, also highlighted the role of technology and regular training in improving disaster response.

Regarding NEMA’s operations, the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, disclosed that from January 2024 to date, the agency has provided 626,000 essential relief items to over 100,000 people across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

These include 288,875 food items, over 300,000 non-food items, and over 26,000 building materials.

On the distribution of 42,000 metric tons of assorted grains approved by the President, the Director-General said the grains have been distributed to all states except Akwa Ibom and Osun.

“This is due to logistical issues because the states are responsible for transporting these items. In all, we have distributed 39,347.6 metric tons of grains,” she said.