Lagos to meet protesting pilgrims over fare hike

Reacting to the protest, the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board said the increment was beyond the control of the Federal or State Governments because Hajj operations which is under the control of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is dollar-based.

The dollar which was exchanged for N306 to a Naira in 2019 has now risen to N419 (official rate) in 2022.

In a meeting with the Chief Executives of States Pilgrims Welfare Boards, Agencies and Commissions in Abuja last Thursday, the NAHCON Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Zikhirullah Kunle Hazzan said that the Saudi Arabian authority had increased its Value Added Tax (VAT) from five percent to 15 percent and coupled with the high exchange rate of dollars, everything is bound to be affected.

“Equally important to add is that the new increment of N1,340,000.00 in addition to the N1.3 million initially deposited by our intending pilgrims covers airline tickets (to and fro Saudi Arabia), hotel accommodation, visa procurement, local transportation, PCR test both in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, amongst others.

Consequently, the Board has no alternative than to act as directed by its regulator in order to make the exercise seamless for our intending pilgrims,” the board said.

It would be recall that Lagos State was allocated 1,562 slots while those above 65 years have been excluded in line with Saudi Arabian Government’s directive.