NAHCON Advises Late-Paying Pilgrims to Await Further Information for Hajj 2026

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that a significant number of intending pilgrims may be unable to participate in the 2026 hajj pilgrimage.

Fatima Sanda Usara, NAHCON’s Deputy Director of Information and Publications, explained this issue is primarily due to the closure of the hajj portal in Saudi Arabia for data registration following an increase in available slots for Nigerian pilgrims.

Previously, Saudi Arabia had cut Nigeria's hajj slots from 95,000 to 50,000. However, through diplomatic interventions, efforts were made to secure an increase in this number.

Unfortunately, this increase coincided closely with the timeframe during which Saudi Arabia closed the portal for pilgrims' registration.

In her statement, Usara noted, “It's important to remember that after the adjustment to Nigeria’s hajj quota of 50,000, NAHCON convened a meeting with state officials to formally rescind the earlier allocations and adopted a first-come, first-served approach based on confirmed payments.”

She further elaborated that many state boards managed to obtain funding and processed their payments successfully. Camp allocations were then granted based on remittances completed by the January 2 deadline. Nevertheless, a few states, including Kaduna and Niger, received limited additional allocations subsequently through internal adjustments made possible by some states that had paid excess amounts.

Usara reiterated the commission's consistent warnings regarding late registration, emphasizing that Saudi authorities are likely to enforce deadlines rigorously.

“Although NAHCON pursued additional slots later, the approval for these slots was only granted after Saudi Arabia's main operational portals had closed. Thus, we urge pilgrims who have made late payments to remain patient and assured that updates will be provided as necessary.”