The Independent Hajj Reporters has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria for selecting a different Saudi Arabia-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
This was contained in a statement by the IHR National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammad, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The CSO is a faith-based body that monitors and reports Hajj and Umrah activities.
It affirmed that the decision by NAHCON would create a healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
IHR said that the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
“We applauded 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,” Muhammad said.
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The national Coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, disclosed that available information showed that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
He indicated that the company served 249,706 persons, which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims, during the 2023 Hajj, adding that they were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
Meanwhile, the CSO has urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, adding that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.