The Executive Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi, and the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, are currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due to alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion 2024 Hajj subsidy.
According to the EFCC, SR314,098 has been recovered from Arabi and other high-ranking officials. The investigation has revealed that Arabi fraudulently overpaid himself and other officials for operational costs related to the Hajj.
The approved 2024 Hajj operational costs for various NAHCON officials were outlined as follows: $4,250 for the Chairman/CEO, $12,750 for Commissioners, $3,825 for the Secretary, and $15,300 for Directors/Chief of Staff. However, the EFCC alleges discrepancies in these payments.
“The chairman was entitled to SR15,929 but he received SR50,000. Three commissioners, who were meant to get SR15,929 each, received SR40,000 each. The secretary got SR30,000 instead of SR14,336. Directors/Chief of Staff received SR30,000 instead of the SR2,550 they were entitled to,” stated the EFCC.
The EFCC had previously interrogated Arabi for several hours on July 29 before releasing him on bail. Recently, additional officials were arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over similar allegations concerning the N90 billion subsidy.
A source within the EFCC disclosed, “The Secretary and Chairman of the commission are in our custody and are facing serious interrogations on the N90 billion subsidy, among other allegations.”
The investigation has also revealed that SR8,614,175.27 of cash withdrawals from the N90 billion released by the Federal Government is still unaccounted for by NAHCON. The document detailed that N90 billion was allocated to NAHCON to subsidise the 2024 Hajj operations, but the Central Bank of Nigeria deducted N1,764,705,937.62 as bank charges.
The document further outlined that N88,235,294,063.72 was converted into USD 62,307,164.48 and then into Saudi Riyals, totaling SR233,527,252.47. The opening balance for Hajj activities was SR19,813,810.89, with an inflow of SR485,000,000.00 and a closing balance of SR78,985,266.03. The closing balance includes SR20,637,908.23 refunded from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Saudi Arabia.
Furthermore, the document reveals that SR22,815,367.74 was withdrawn from the British SAAB account by Abubakar Muhammed Lamin during the 2024 Hajj operation. The expected cash payment for services and allowances was SR14,905,910.47, with SR8,614,175.27 still unaccounted for.
The investigation also uncovered recoveries related to estacodes paid to staff who did not undertake study tours, as well as payments made to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd for unrendered services. The document states, “The consultant did not render any services,” and notes that supporting documents for consultancy payments were fraudulently backdated to facilitate the transactions.
In summary, the EFCC has recovered SR1,026,000.00 from one Eastern Gulf Company in Saudi Arabia and continues to scrutinise the activities of NAHCON officials amid these allegations.
