CISLAC condemned the alleged corrupt handling of the Hajj subsidies "particularly given the religious significance of the event."
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), an accountability-focused not-for-profit organisation, has commended the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for opening a probe into the use of the 90 billion Hajj subsidy by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
"Reports indicate that despite substantial payments and the allocation of federal government subsidies, many pilgrims received substandard treatment, raising serious concerns about the management of funds by NAHCON," CISLAC's Executive Director, Auwal Musa (Rafsanjani), said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We commend the ICPC's efforts to expose this monumental fraud and urge them to ensure that corruption is rooted out of our public institutions."
In May, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of N90 billion in subsidies to support intending pilgrims to Mecca for the 2024 Hajj.
CISLAC condemned on Tuesday the alleged corrupt handling of the Hajj subsidies "particularly given the religious significance of the event."
It also denounced the corrupt activities of many Nigerian officials blamed for the country's current economic woes.
It called for a concerted effort to restore trust and accountability in public institutions.
Mr Musa said CISLAC supports the ICPC investigation into the Hajj subsidy case, which, he said, highlights the broader corruption crisis in Nigeria that leaves the country ranking 150th out of 180 countries on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International.
Mr Musa, who also heads Transparency International Nigeria (TI-Nigeria), pointed out that persistent fraud and institutional failures have significantly contributed to the nation's poverty.
"With over 133 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty, according to recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the diversion of public funds intended for citizens' welfare has exacerbated the nation's socio-economic challenges.
"The level of fraud and disregard for institutional integrity have plunged millions of Nigerians into abject poverty while a few individuals amass wealth at the expense of the general populace," he explained.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that ICPC, on 7 August, interrogated a senior NAHCON official over the management of the N90 billion Hajj subsidies last.
NAHCON's defence
NAHCON has been defending its handling of the Hajj subsidy.
NAHCON's Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, told PREMIUM TIMES during our reporter's visit to her office over the arrest of the commission's official by the ICPC last Friday that there was no wrongdoing in handling the Hajj funds.
She identified the arrested official as the commission's Director of Procurement.
The official was said to have failed to honour ICPC's invitation extended to all the senior officials of the commission.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited the NAHCON chairperson, Jalal Arabi, for questioning over the funds in July.
Ms Usera downplayed the anti-corruption agencies' ongoing scrutiny of the Hajj funds.
She said the EFCC did not invite the NAHCON chairperson on suspicion of mismanagement of the N90 billion Hajj subsidy. She said it was an annual routine for the EFCC to request the NAHCON to give an account of the use of the funds entrusted to it after Hajj.
NAHCON chairperson, Mr Arabi, gave a post-Hajj press briefing on 29 July, detailing how the subsidies were expended.
Documents referenced by Mr Arabi during the briefing indicated that NAHCON bore extra costs in addition to the N90 billion Hajj subsidies granted by the federal government.
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According to him, of the N90 billion, about N80 billion was expended as subsidies for 50,000 pilgrims from the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), each receiving N1.6 million.
The document said that other pilgrims under the Hajj Savings Scheme (HSS) and all officials used up over N10 billion.
The document also indicated that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which disbursed the funds on behalf of the federal government, deducted 2 per cent service charge per pilgrim. This, according to the commission, amounted to about 1.7 billion.
The document indicated unexpected, additional costs of around N4 billion for accommodations in Medina. It stated that while the commission initially estimated the cost at Saudi Riyal (SR) 850 per bed space for 11,000 spaces, they only secured 8,754 spaces at that rate.
NAHCON said the additional expenses, coupled with the CBN deductions, resulted in a loss of approximately N6 billion for NAHCON.
