Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR) has joined the call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to abolish the 2% charge it receives from the payments of intending Hajj pilgrims from Nigeria.
IHR states that the 2% charge by the country’s apex bank, which translates to $90 per pilgrim (N144,000), based on the N1,600 foreign exchange benchmark used by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), has contributed to the high cost of Hajj for Nigerian pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia allocates 95,000 slots to Nigeria for the annual pilgrimage. If the quota is filled, the CBN generates approximately $8,550,000 (N13.68 billion) in revenue yearly from Hajj payments by pilgrims.
IHR, in a statement Sunday signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, says following public outcry over the high cost of Hajj, “The CBN should abolish the revenue it collects simply for transferring Hajj payments to NAHCON’S IBAN account in Saudi Arabia”.
The statement added that, “while we do not claim that the payments are illegal, we believe that the CBN can waive them as their contribution to the reduction of Hajj fare in the country”. Nigerian pilgrims are paying multiple service charges to various government establishments, which has jerked up the overall cost of the Hajj fare.
‘It should be noted that NAHCON has been funding its operations since 2019, relying on its service charge and relieving the government of Hajj operational costs. Such self-reliance measure needs to be supported by other government institutions to guarantee seamless and efficient services for Nigerian pilgrims”, it said
The CSOs’ appeal follows similar calls by many Hajj stakeholders urging the Central Bank to waive the payments.
