Shettima Tasks New NAHCON Board

By Abdulfattah Abdussalam

Today at the office of the Vice President of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Senator Shettima, GCON, in line with His mandate as the supervisory official of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON, inaugurated the new members of the Commission’s fifth Board.

In a Press release by Stanley Nkwocha
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications
(Office of The Vice President), Senator SHETTIMA, while inaugurating the new NAHCON BOARD, tasked members with coming up with innovations and ideas in Hajj Operations.

The Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, called on the new management to introduce innovations in hajj operations in Nigeria. He urged members to synergize and bring fresh perspectives to the operations of the commission. According to Sen. Shettima, serving on the NAHCON board is very important given that “Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam”.

“For you, beyond your appointment, it is a win-win situation because if you serve the pilgrims well, almighty Allah will compensate you in the hereafter. So, it is more of a religious duty than an administrative function,” the VP emphasized.

Speaking further about the composition of the new board and the task ahead of them, Sen. Shettima said, “The president deliberately picked people with diverse backgrounds and untainted by the past so that they can bring fresh perspectives and innovations to Hajj operations in Nigeria and also interrogate the management structure of the organization and bring out the best from the staff.”

“As usual, you will encounter a lot of challenges but I will urge you to fuse into a single force and achieve our desired result. I will urge you to wear your thinking caps and come up with robust solutions that will satisfy Nigerian pilgrims”.

“It is a very tough assignment; this is the nature of pilgrimage. But I want you to have it at the back of your minds that you are rendering service to God and humanity,” he added.

The Vice President wants the new Management to improve on the Hajj Savings Scheme to boost the number of pilgrims participating in the exercise across the country.
His words: “There are States that have become success stories in the Hajj Savings Scheme, and there is a need for greater advocacy so that this scheme can be replicated across the country.

He further challenged the board to “engage agents and operations partners to foster a longer-term relationship so that they can make significant capital investment in operations in the Holy land.”

The newly constituted board comprises Aliu Abdulrazaq (Commissioner, Policy, Personnel, & Finance), Prince Anofi Elegushi (Commissioner, Operations), and Professor Abubakar A. Yagawal (Commissioner, Planning & Research).

The zonal and stakeholder representatives include Dr. Muhammad Umaru Ndagi — North Central; Abba Jato Kala — North East; Sheikh Muhammad Bin Othman — North West; Tajudeen Oladejo Abefe — South West; Aishat Obi Ahmed — South East; Zainab Musa — South-South; Professor Musa Inuwa Fodio — Jama’atul Nasril Islam, and Professor Adedimeji Mahfouz Adebola — Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs.

Also, present at the event were the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate; Ministers of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, and Interior, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

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