It was learnt that about 150 intending pilgrims who paid into the APO’s personal bank account as he had directed, instead of paying into the official designated account domiciled in the Jaiz Bank would not perform this year’s Hajj, according to Daily Trust.
An Area Pilgrims Officer (APO), Nma Ndagana, has failed to remit millions of naira paid into his account, for some intending pilgrims in the Bida Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was learnt that about 150 intending pilgrims who paid into the APO’s personal bank account as he had directed, instead of paying into the official designated account domiciled in the Jaiz Bank would not perform this year’s Hajj, according to Daily Trust.
Confirming the incident was the Secretary of the Niger State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Umar Maku Lapai, who noted that a committee had already been set up to investigate the allegations.
According to Umar Maku, complaints have been received in batches and more people are still coming forward with similar complaints.
He said the number of people registered by the Ndagana was more than the allocation given to his local government area, adding that he only remitted money for the number of people assigned for his area.
“There are two ways to it. For us in the Niger State Pilgrims Welfare Board, we have paid money for the 2,265 people but we are yet to receive complete visas. It is the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria that is responsible to give us the visas.
“In the case of Bida, the number of pilgrims that he (APO) registered were above the slot he was asked to register. Those that he paid their money to us have been given visas. Those that paid their money to his account were the ones with problems.
“We have set up a committee to find out what actually happened. The committee is still investigating. The affected people are coming in batches. In the first place, we registered 28 complaints. Later more people came and they are still coming.
"If the allegations were found to be true, the official involved would not be allowed to travel. The board would not take responsibility for money paid into individual accounts," he said.
About 614 intending pilgrims from Kaduna State have not been airlifted even as the July 5 deadline issued by the Saudi Arabian government draws closer.
So far, 1,986 intending pilgrims have departed the state for the holy land with the fifth flight leaving the Kaduna International Airport Saturday night.
The state was initially given 2,491 slots before the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) increased the figure to 2,600.