The Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a faith-based civil society organisation that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) for selecting a new Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman, had on Friday, January 17 signed the new contract with the new service provider, Mashariq Al-Dhahabia Company, a development described by stakeholders as a major milestone.
Reacting to the development today, through a press release signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, from Makkah, Saudi Arabia, made available to Tribune Online in Abuja, the IHR asserted that NAHCON’s decision to engage a new provider for Nigerian pilgrims during this year’s Hajj would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
IHR stated that the quest for improved Hajj services had been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure to provide satisfactory services.
According to the CSO, ”We applaud the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj.”
Mohammed, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, informed that available information showed that Mashariq Al Dhahabia was an experienced provider that had served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia.
He added that the company ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The company, according to him, served 249, 706 pilgrims, which was the largest number of pilgrims during the 2023 Hajj, while it was awarded as the Best Hajj Service Provider during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
The IHR National Coordinator stated that the CSO further understood that NAHCON was planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for VIP pilgrims to avoid a repeat of previous years’ experience, adding that this “is also a desired step forward.”
The CSO, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service provider to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage.
It stated that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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