The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has mandated the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to allocate a minimum of 2,000 Hajj slots to each group of tour operators in the country for the 2026 Hajj exercise.
The ministry gave the directive during a virtual meeting on new policies for tour operators held with officials of the Nigerian Hajj body on Wednesday.
The NAHCON Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, led the commission’s delegation to the meeting, which discussed key policy directives affecting Nigerian licensed tour operators.
During the meeting, which was chaired by the General Director of International Partnerships in the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Abdullah Zarea, NAHCON was further directed to register all operators on the Nusuk Masar platform, create and activate their payment wallets, and ensure that the wallets are funded through NAHCON-approved IBAN accounts.
The Saudi officials also requested the list of lead companies representing the tour operators to facilitate the implementation process.
Following concerns raised by Prince Elegushi on Umrah-related issues, the chairman of the meeting, Abdullah Zarea, called for further discussions between NAHCON and the official directly in charge of Umrah in the ministry.