National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NaHCON)
About
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is a federal government agency responsible for managing Hajj operations for Nigerian Muslim pilgrims. It is part of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. The Commission oversees, regulates and coordinates Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria. Its responsibilities include coordinating state pilgrims welfare boards, supervising Hajj logistics such as airlift and accommodation, ensuring compliance with Saudi Arabian Hajj regulations, and managing pilgrim welfare and registration.
History
The Nigerian government's official involvement in Hajj operations began in 1953, when Alhaji Abubakar Imam moved a motion in the Northern House of Assembly calling for a Nigerian pilgrims' office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As pilgrim numbers grew in the 1960s and 1970s, various regional Pilgrims Welfare Boards were established. The Federal Government then created the Nigerian Pilgrims Board in 1975 via Decree No. 16, later replaced in 1989 by the Nigerian Pilgrims Commission, which was dissolved in 1991 after an airline crash in Jiddah that killed 247 Nigerian pilgrims and 14 crew members. Later failures of temporary structures and a Saudi government ban on Nigerian pilgrims in 1996 further highlighted the need for a permanent institution. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria was established in 2006 by an Act of the National Assembly, the NAHCON (Establishment) Act, 2006, in response to decades of administrative instability in Hajj operations. It officially began operations in 2007, with its first chairman, Muhammad Musa Bello, later appointed as Nigeria's Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Key Facts
Established
2006
Headquarters
Abuja, Nigeria
Jurisdiction
Federal Government of Nigeria
Abbreviation
NAHCON
Website
nahcon.gov.ng