Vice President Kashim Shettima has praised the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), State Pilgrims Welfare Boards and other stakeholders for their effective coordination of the 2026 Hajj exercise.
Shettima gave the commendation on Wednesday when he received a delegation from NAHCON at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where officials presented a report on the recently concluded pilgrimage and shared plans for future operations.
In a statement issued by Stanley Nkwocha, the Vice President’s spokesperson, Shettima described the outcome of the 2026 Hajj as a major achievement, noting that the level of success recorded should become a standard for subsequent exercises.
He encouraged relevant authorities to build on the experience by developing a more sustainable system that would help achieve a completely hitch-free Hajj operation in the future.
The Vice President also recognised the contributions of NAHCON, state pilgrims’ boards and other partners, describing their efforts as instrumental to the smooth running of the pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, NAHCON Chairman Ismail Yusuf briefed the Vice President on developments surrounding the 2026 Hajj and Saudi Arabia’s plan to adopt a more sustainable business-to-business model for future operations.
Yusuf explained that the new arrangement, which is part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, will see private tour operators take responsibility for about 98 per cent of pilgrims’ arrangements.
He added that under the model, NAHCON would continue to serve as the regulatory authority, while operational duties would gradually shift to private sector operators.