A faith-based registered civil society organisation, CSO, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has renewed its call on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON and the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards, SMPWBs to refund N19,228,000,000 excess payments made by more than 44,000 Nigerian pilgrims during the 2025 Hajj exercise.
According to the group, each pilgrim is entitled to an average refund of about N400,000 to N437,000, following a discrepancy between the exchange rate used to calculate the 2025 Hajj fare and the actual rate at which service payments were made.
IHR, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammad and released on Monday, said, “now that the 2026 Hajj is about to begins and 2025 Hajj accounts reconciliations has been completed, NAHCON should initiate prompt refund of the excess amount paid by 2025 Hajj pilgrims who registered before the official deadline.”
It recalled that the 2025 Hajj fare was pegged using an exchange rate of N1,600 per dollar, resulting in Northern pilgrims being charged $4,704.18 and their Southern counterparts $4,908.18, leading to overall costs exceeding N8 million.
The group, however, added that by the time NAHCON made payments for services between February 13 and 15, the official exchange rate had fallen to N1,507–N1,520 per dollar, leaving an unspent balance of about N80,000 – N93 per dollar per pilgrim.
It said that the exchange rates throughout February and March did not exceed N1,507 – N1,535 when the entire Hajj service payments were made, estimating that N437,000 is due to about 44,000 pilgrims who paid in full before the February 10 deadline.
The group also noted that NAHCON had previously acknowledged the possibility of refunds, stating it would act after the completion of the 2025 Hajj reconciliations, and therefore, urged immediate action now that NAHCON and SMPWBs have reconciled the 2025 Hajj operational accounts.
“We understand that the 2025 Hajj fare was computed using higher estimated rates to avoid the possibility of asking pilgrims to pay more. The payment for services was eventually affected with a lower exchange rate below the projected sum.
“Other countries where overpayments occurred have already refunded their pilgrims. Nigeria should do the same as a mark of transparency and accountability,” the group stressed.
IHR emphasised that the refund would help the affected pilgrims recover part of their expenses, especially given the economic challenges many faced in performing the pilgrimage.
It further urged NAHCON and the SMPWBs to jointly process the refunds and ensure timely disbursement to all eligible pilgrims.
