Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards in states and tour operators have called on the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to review the 50,000 Hajj slots allocated to Nigeria for the 2026 Hajj exercise.

They demanded that the 66,910 slots allocated to Nigeria for the 2025 hajj be restored to accommodate more pilgrims.

The stakeholders made the request on Thursday during a meeting with the Saudi Arabian advanced team led by Ghassan Al-Nuaimi.

The meeting was held ahead of the official visit of the hajj and umrah minister, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabbiah, scheduled for February 3.

Aliyu Usman, the chairman of Yobe Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, lamented that the hajj slots reduction would deny many Nigerians the opportunity for pilgrimage.

Ustaz Khidir Usaefat, CEO of Ar-rahama for hajj and umrah, also described the Hajj quota allocated to Nigerian pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj as inadequate.

“Now we are given 69 pilgrims per company, which is very low. Last year, we were given 150 pilgrims per company, and despite that, most of us still bought more. I heard that we have a company that has also purchased more than 300 additional slots to meet its passengers.

“So, this is cause for serious alarm because most of the tour operators will go into serious shortage and debt. We just expect the Minister of Hajj and Umrah to help us,” he said.

Musodiq Oladepo, CEO of KOB Travels and Tours Ltd, also lamented the reduction in slots.

“We have an initial downgrade from 95,000 to 66,910, only to go down again to 50,000. To the tour operators, this is a great challenge because many of us have gone ahead based on the initial allocation of 66,910 to pay for accommodation and flight tickets, in preparation for the number.

“Now that it’s been scaled down to 50,000, they have to cut down the number of slots given to each and every tour operator,” stated Mr Oladepo.

(NAN)