The Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHOUN) has threatened to take legal action against the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) if it fails to refund over N17 billion owed to its members.
At a press conference on Monday, AHOUN President, Abdullateef Ekundayo Yusuf, stated that the commission has withheld funds from its members, including caution deposits, unused visa fees, excess payments, and Umrah deposits, without providing any clear communication on repayment.
Yusuf explained that in 2022, NAHCON collected over N2.7 billion as caution deposits from members, with a promise to refund the money two weeks after the Hajj, but no repayments have been made. Instead, the commission has requested additional deposits for future operations.
He added that NAHCON owes over N15 billion to Hajj operators, which includes refunds from the Saudi government for services either unrendered or poorly provided during Hajj operations.
Many AHOUN members, some of whom have since passed away, are still waiting for these refunds.
“NAHCON has refuse to refund any of the companies that applied for it, instead they are asking for more money as increase to the last year’s deposit.
“The Commission has attested to have held our members’ funds through several engagements example unused visa, excess payments, Umrah deposit etc., and have not shown any sign of refunding such funds.
“In fact, our agreement with the Commission to publish the list of the companies under this category since last year have not been met. It is worth noting that many of our members have passed on waiting for these refunds,” Yusuf said.
“Furthermore, NAHCON is owing our members over N15 Billion. It was the practice of the Saudi government after each Hajj operation to refund money to countries on three grounds.
“Number one, services paid by pilgrims but not rendered, number two services paid for but poorly rendered to the agreed standard, number three tent security deposits.
“Our members are owed all these categories of money from 2022 Hajj to date by the commission.” got to know through media reports, before they now confirmed to us at our last meeting.”
AHOUN has warned that if NAHCON does not address these issues, they will be forced to seek legal recourse to recover the owed funds.