By Ademola Adekusibe
Abuja | October 6, 2025
President Bola Tinubu has directed the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to immediately review and reduce the recently announced fares for the 2026 Hajj exercise.
The Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadeija, disclosed this on Monday while briefing State House correspondents after a meeting with NAHCON officials at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to Hadeija, the meeting, convened at the instance of Vice-President Kashim Shettima, was held to explore possible reductions in the announced fares, which he said were largely determined by foreign exchange rates.
“The hajj fare component is about 95 to 96 per cent foreign exchange-based,” Hadeija explained. “The fares announced by NAHCON were based on a pessimistic exchange rate of ₦1,550 to the dollar, but the naira has been appreciating as a result of the government’s ongoing economic reforms.”
NAHCON had earlier pegged the 2026 fares at ₦8,318,336.67 for pilgrims from the Maiduguri-Yola Zone (covering Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, and Taraba States); ₦8,244,813.67 for other northern states; and ₦8,561,013.67 for southern states.
Hadeija said the Federal Government believes the current improvement in the exchange rate should translate to lower fares for intending pilgrims.
“If pilgrims paid between ₦8.5 million and ₦8.6 million during the last Hajj at a worse exchange rate, then with the naira’s current strength, we should pass the benefit to them,” he said. “We expect fares to fall between ₦7.6 million and ₦7.7 million, with the final figure to be announced in two days.”
He added that a faster remittance of payments from the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards to NAHCON and subsequently to the Central Bank of Nigeria would help secure foreign exchange early and maintain the reduced rate.
Chairman of the Kebbi Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Faruk Yaro, praised the President and Vice-President for their intervention, describing it as “a timely move that will ease the financial burden on prospective pilgrims.”
Similarly, NAHCON Secretary, Dr. Mustapha Mohammad, welcomed the directive, saying it would allow more Muslims to participate in the 2026 pilgrimage.
“The lower the fare, the more Muslims will be able to perform this important pillar of Islam,” Mohammad said. “We will work tirelessly to ensure it is reduced to an affordable rate as directed.”
