2026 Hajj: NAHCON Chairman Abdullahi Pakistan in fresh procurement scandal over tour operators’ Masha’ir contracts

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The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, is allegedly involved in a fresh procurement fraud over licensed tour operators’ Masha’ir contracts for 2026 Hajj.

Investigations by this newspaper-thorough interviews and analysis of official documents — have shown that the Hajj commission had signed a multi-billion naira Masha’ir contract with a Saudi company for Nigerian licenced tour operators pilgrims without recourse to the procurement and other extant regulations.

A statement released and signed by the Technical Assistant (Media) of NAHCON chairman, Ahmed Muazu, said the agreement was signed by NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan; and the CEO of Rawaf Mina Company, Mr Zuhair Abdel Hamid Sadayo; on Saturday, November 15, 2025, in Makkah.

VIOLATION OF PROCUREMENT LAWS AND DUE PROCESSES

This newspaper exclusively uncovered that the NAHCON leadership signed the Mina, Arafat and Musdalifa contracts with Rawaf Mina Company without obtaining the compulsory ‘No Objection Certificate’ from the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

The Public Procurement Act, 2007 requires public procuring entities to obtain prior approval (No Objection) from the BPP before using non-competitive procurement methods such as Restricted/Selective Tendering, Direct Procurement, and Emergency Procurement.

Also, the Hajj commission, the investigation has revealed, didn’t send the contract to the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice for legal vetting and approval prior to its signing.

This development is also a clear violation of the recent directives issued by Vice President Kashim Shettima in a letter dated June 20, 2025, with reference number SH/OVP/DCOS, and signed by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Vice President’s Office), Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia.

The letter, sent to NAHCON and other federal agencies under the supervision of the VP’s office, referenced an earlier FG’s circular which states that all contracts above N100 million with foreign firms must be vetted and approved by the Federal Ministry of Justice. 

However, with an estimated 15,000 private tour pilgrims this year, the contract sum with Rawaf Mina would be over N20 billion at the rate of 3,500 Saudi riyal per pilgrim, which is equivalent to N1,349,600 (3,500 x 385.6 x 15,000).

TOUR OPERATORS DIVIDED

The appointment of Rawaf Mina has divided members of the Hajj and Umrah Tour Operators Association of Nigeria (HUTON) and those of Association for Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON) – largely due to its antecedents. Recently, the leaderhip of AHUON, in a letter rejected the recommendation of Rawaf Mina by the leadership of HUTON and some other tour operators. After horse-trading that lasted for more than one month in Nigeria over the selection of their service provider, some sections of the tour operators reportedly settled on Rawaf Mina at the weekend.

PAKISTAN’S PENCHANT FOR IMPOSITION

Mr Pakistan’s penchant for imposition of service providers on states and tour operators didn’t start with the Rawaf Mina’s case, this newspaper reliably understands. On June 14, 2025, while in Saudi Arabia, the NAHCON chairman also appointed a Saudi Arabian company, Ekram Deif, as the sole service provider for all Nigerian pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj. It was flatly rejected by the Presidency after a petition by the NAHCON Commissioner for Operations Anofi Elegushi.

Despite the backlash over Ekram Deif, Mr Pakistan again recommended Rawaf Mina through a letter with reference number NAHCON/AI/17/X/791, and dated September 11, 2025, as the exclusive Masha’ir service provider for the VIP, tour operators, and state pilgrims. But the vice president rejected it — saying the forum of the state chief executives and other stakeholders must determine it.
 
RAWAF MINA’S HISTORY OF POOR SERVICE DELIVERY

This newspaper recalls that Rawaf Mina served tour operators’ pilgrims during the 2024 Hajj operation— rendering poor services, leaving pilgrims with no tents, no beddings, no food, and no water — triggering widespread condemnation by pilgrims and tour operators.
 
Even the VIP pilgrims were affected by Rawaf Mina’s poor services during the 2025 Hajj. After losing the prestigious TENT A camp – a five-minute walk to the Jamarat –  the VIPs were relocated to Zone 2, about an hour’s walk to the Jamarat.

Not only that, the Rawaf Mina’s management of the TENT A+ was chaotic, which led to many Nigerian VIPs, including a serving governor from a North-Central state, a first lady of a North-West state, and a former deputy governor, being locked out from the camp.

DIVISION WITHIN NAHCON

Further investigation has shown that the NAHCON operations chief Elegushi was not involved whatsoever in the Rawaf Mina contract debacle — purposely for violating due process and extant regulations.

This newspaper uncovers that the Hajj commission had followed due process that included the BPP certification, board meeting approval, AGF vetting and approval from the vice president for the Mashariq Dhahabiah contracts “because Mr Pakistan was technically not on seat during the time because he was busy attending to the ongoing EFCC investigation. The entire process was coordinated by the Commissioner of Operations Anofi Elegushi.

It was revealed that in the case of the Masha’ir contracts for State qouta pilgrims signed with Mashariq Dhahabiah company, the Hajj commission followed due process — by obtaining BPP no objection certificate, and vetting and approval from the Federal Ministry of Justice as required by the law. They also had a virtual board meeting where the decision was approved.

However, insiders said that the Rawaf Mina’s case “is the reverse because there was no board meeting, no BPP certification, no AGF vetting, and no any approval from the vice president’s office as required by law.”

STAFF PETITION EFCC, BPP, VP

As a fallout of the tour operators’ deal with Rawaf Mina, some concerned staff of the Hajj commission have already submitted a damning petition to the EFCC, BPP and even the Presidency over what the called “gross violations of procurement and other extant laws” of Nigeria.

They said that the civil servants are the fallout guys in situations like this. “The public officers would circumvent the laws and at the end of it we are the ones to be invited by the anti-graft agencies to provide this or that documents. That is why we decided to be proactive now and draw the relevant agencies to what is going on before it is too late,” one of the officials privy to the petitions told one of reporters in confidence.

DOWNGRADE OF NIGERIA, PILGRIM QUOTA DOWN TO 50,000 FROM 95,000

Another disturbing development is the revelations that the 2026 Hajj quota for Nigerian contingent has been further scaled down to 50,000 from the original 95,000 — automatically removing the west African country from its position as the fifth largest Hajj country in the world for the first time.

The country’s figures were earlier slashed to 66,000 as announced by NAHCON in a statement signed by its spokesperson Fatima Usara. There are no official reasons for the downward cut —though stakeholders have attributed it to the alleged poor and ineffectual leadership governing the Nigerian apex Hajj regulator.

Poor leadership, administrative highhandedness and massive allegations of corruption leading to the arrest and investigation of the NAHCON top management — including Mr Pakistan — have dogged Hajj administration in the biggest African country.

In what this newspaper understands as a clear departure from the past and a no confidence vote, the signing of the 2026 Hajj Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Hajj commission and the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, was not attended by the ministers of the two countries.

The event held on Sunday, November 9, 2025 in the Port City of Jeddah, was attended by NAHCON chairman Mr Pakistan on behalf of Nigeria, and the Saudi Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Abdulfatah Mashat, on behalf of the kingdom.

However, in 2024 during the administration of Ahmad Jalal Arabi, the MoU was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; and the Saudi Arabian Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Dr. Taufiq Al-Rabiah.

In 2025 after the appointment of Mr Pakistan, the situation changed to the eventual downgrade of Nigeria mainly due to his poor leadership style. The MOU was signed by Mr Pakistan and the Saudi deputy minister — which is a clear vote of no confidence on the Hajj commission leadership by the Saudis.

To this year’s signing, the Nigerian foreign ministry sent a ministerial aide to the occasion, while a low-level aide was sent from the vice president’s office.

To further buttress the downgrade of Nigeria by the kingdom, the Saudi Hajj ministry had on Thursday, November 20, 2025, published a gallery of pictures of 75 countries that signed the 2026 Hajj agreement with the kingdom — with Nigeria visibly missing. The gallery showcases the individual representatives of the 75 countries in photo show with the Saudi Hajj minister after the signing of the MOU.

Hajj stakeholders lamented that the 2026 Hajj agreement signing has signaled the further downgrade of Nigeria in Saudi Arabia due to Mr Pakistan’s alleged inefficiency and lack of technical know-how in the sector.

“It is clear that the Saudis are trying to write us off because of the glaring leadership deficiencies they have seen in the last one year in Professor Pakistan. Before now, the Saudi Hajj and Umrah minister signs the MOU, but since Mr Pakistan came on board, they have been sending a junior minister. This year, the junior minister was accompanied to the event by just his aide. It is that bad for Nigeria,” the Hajj commission official who spoke in confidence, said.

Another NAHCON staff member stated that since the coming of Mr Pakistan over a year ago, he has never met the Saudi Hajj and Umrah minister. “In the past, the Saudi Hajj ministers were eager to meet new NAHCON leaders, but not any more again — and all courtesy the infectious bad influence triggered by Professor Pakistan’s lack of administrative skills — that include very poor ability to read and write in English, as well as the gamut of corruption allegations that envelopes the commission under his watch,” the top staff who spoke with this newspaper by telephone said.

NIGERIA’S LARGE CONTINGENT GUZZLES MILLIONS

On the other hand, the Nigerian contingent to the kingdom for this event was almost 40, according to insiders. Credible sources said the Mr Pakistan and other board members were given N23 million each for the trip, while other staff members received between N11 million to N13 million each based on ones rank. Majority of the officials that travelled to the kingdom had no specific schedule, fueling allegations that the foreign trip was embarked upon to spend the country’s scarce resources. Nigeria has travelled with the largest contingents among the 75 countries — despite its lower figures. Findings have indicated that countries with over 200,000 pilgrims came with not more than five officials each for the MOU signing — but judiciously utilized their workforce in their diplomatic missions in the kingdom.

“People close to the chairman were simply picked for the trip. The selection was not based on what you’ll do there, it is simply an opportunity to reward ‘yes-men’. It is an estacode-induced trip to say the truth,” one of the NAHCON officials told this newspaper.

NAHCON CHAIRMAN RISKS JAIL TERM OVER ALLEGED FRAUD

A lawyer, who is a veteran of Hajj operation, told our reporters in confidence that Prof Pakistan can be jailed for allegedly circumventing the procurement law. “Under the Public Procurement Act, 2007, this fraud csn attract between 5 to 10 years imprisonment. It is a very serious issue,” the lawyer said.

Inside sources, however, said the NAHCON chairman was not perturbed by these alleged infractions. A staff member of the commission who declined being named for fear of a backlash said, “Professor Pakistan was heard briefing some leaders of his religious sect in their posh hotel in Makkah Clock Towers that he didn’t get ‘anything’ from the Mashariq Dhahabiah contracts, transportation and other contracts signed in Madinah. So, Rawaf Mina is his only opportunity to grab something.”

The official said the chairman was also “boasting of ‘consulting tour operators’ before the Rawaf Mina deal. It if unfortunate that the NAHCON chairman assumes that consulting tour operators is enough licence to circumvent the procurement law and other extant regulations, especially that which involves foreign procurement.”

WHAT STAKEHOLDERS SAY

The stakeholders said a leadership change in NAHCON “is the surest way of Nigeria regaining back its lost glory. It is unfortunate to be treated this way as the fifth biggest Hajj country in the world. The no-confidence vote passed by the Saudis on the current NAHCON leadership is loud and clear. The earlier President Bola Tinubu sacks Mr Pakistan the better for Nigeria and the Hajj operation.”

The EFCC, they said, must accelerate their investigation of the NAHCON officials to bring back sanity to the industry. They also called for immediate suspension of all those facing the anti-graft probe , so as to prevent them from interfering with documents in their custody.

NO COMMENT FROM MR PAKISTAN

Attempts to reach out to Professor Pakistan by our reporters over this story were not successful because he couldn’t be reached on his known mobile telephones lines.