President Bola Tinubu has fired the embattled Executive Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Jalal Arabi, whom he appointed last October.
Tinubu has appointed Professor Abdullahi Usman as the new National Hajj Commission of Nigeria chairman.
This was announced by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, in a statement on Monday titled ‘President Tinubu appoints chairman of the National Hajj Commission.’
Usman’s appointment comes as his predecessor, Arabi, is being probed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly mismanaging Hajj funding of N90 billion.
The EFCC announced on August 16 that it had detained Arabi and the commission’s secretary, Abdullahi Kontagora, for illicit withdrawal and alleged mishandling of the N90 billion 2024 Hajj intervention fund.
A total of SR314,098 was announced to have been recovered from Arabi and other ranking officials.
The EFCC said it discovered that, from the N90bn Hajj subsidy, Arabi fraudulently overpaid himself and others above the necessary operational cost.
Tthe Presidency described the new NAHCON Chief, Usman, as “a renowned scholar with qualifications from two Islamic centres of excellence—tthe University of Madinah and Peshawar University, Pakistan.”
“He is also well-grounded in Hajj operations, having served as the Chairman of Kano State Pilgrims Board and successfully superintended the operations of the largest quota of state pilgrims in the country,” it added.
Ngelale stated that the President expects the new Chairman of NAHCON to “discharge his duties with integrity, transparency, and utmost fidelity to the nation.”
