Hajj funds mismanaged commission officials overpaid selves

Following controversies surrounding the management of the 2024 Hajj fund, amounting to N90 billion, and the subsequent summons of the National Hajj Commission Chairman by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the EFCC has reported recovering some misappropriated funds from the Hajj programme.

Currently, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Jalal Arabi, and the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, are in EFCC custody.

According to documents cited, the EFCC stated that it recovered SR314,098 from the NAHCON chairman and other senior officials. The investigation revealed that Arabi had fraudulently overpaid himself and others from the N90 billion Hajj subsidy.

The document also detailed the approved operational costs for the 2024 Hajj for various officials: $4,250 for the Chairman/CEO, $12,750 for Commissioners, $3,825 for the Secretary, and $15,300 for Directors/Chief of Staff.

The EFCC accused the chairman of fraudulently overpaying himself and others. Specifically, the chairman was entitled to SR15,929 but received SR50,000; each of the three commissioners, who were supposed to get SR15,929, received SR40,000; the secretary received SR30,000 instead of SR14,336; and the Directors/Chief of Staff got SR30,000 instead of SR2,550.

In total, SR314,098 was recovered from the involved officials. The EFCC initially interrogated Arabi for several hours on July 29 before releasing him on bail.