This is a catalogue of lies spewed by the embattled Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan, recently during media interviews, particularly that of BBC Hausa broadcast on October 3, 2025. The fact-check was conducted through reviews of records, correspondence, reports, discreet interviews, among others.
CLAIM 1: Secured N19 billion reduction (N200,000 per pilgrim) for 2026 Hajj negotiations.
FACT: The NAHCON’s use of N1,550/$1 exchange rate at a time the CBN official rate was N1,455/$1, shortchanging the 66,910 intending pilgrims over N33.3 billion. This means that each pilgrim travelling from the Northern states will be shortchanged N505,327; Southern states (N524,707); and those from the Maiduguri zone, N497,575. The dollar component of the Hajj fare, without BTA, has gone up by at least $11.75, that is, from $4,636.20 to $4,647.95 for northern states; $4,921.80 to $4,933.55 for southern states, and from $4,636.20 to $4,647.95 for the Maiduguri zone. Also, the naira component rose by N30,000, from N70,000 in 2025 to N100,000 in 2026. Thus, in total, the 2026 Hajj fare has risen, unlike NAHCON’s claims, by at least N47,825.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 2: He is not afraid of the EFCC because they cannot prove their allegations against him.
FACT: He has been dodging the invite, after a dozen NAHCON staff and executive commissioners testified and indicted him, until VP Shettima formally directed him to honour the EFCC invitation.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 3: The cost of Masha’ir services in 2026 is the best for Nigeria in the last 20 years.
FACT: The Masha’ir services started as a full package under Mu’assasah in 2022. Before 2022, the Mu’assasah only provided tents and associated services, while the Hajj commission selected caterers for feeding. Surprisingly, Mr Pakistan is not aware of this history to the extent of making that big claim onninternational radio.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 4: The 2025 Hajj operation was acknowledged as the best in 19 years; not a single pilgrim complained.
FACT: The state pilgrims’ boards, and licensed tour operators said it was a mess. Before the Hajj, pilgrims in Kwara, Niger and Lagos statesprotested. Pilgrims protested in Masha’ir, Makkah, and Madinah over bad food. No clinics in Madinah, only one clinic in Makkah at the end of Hajj. He failed to secure a visa for 2,700 persons and couldn’t be airlifted. Despite the small number, the pilgrims stayed longer than when Nigeria had a full quota. He is also facing a corruption allegations probe from EFCC, ICPC, Saudi Nazaha, and Ri’āsat Al-Istikhbārāt Al-‘Āmah. And above all, Mr Pakistan’s inability to submit the 2025 Hajj report as at when due. He is yet to pay 2025 Hajj refunds; the Saudi Hajj ministry had to set up a special committee to monitor Nigerian Hajj operation; ICPC, EFCC, DSS, NFIU, ONSA, NIA, etc, submitted unfavourable reports on 2025 Hajj; and several diplomatic complaints on the entire operation.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 5: Denied receiving petitions from NAHCON staff, board members, state pilgrims’boards, tour operators, etc. He again said the staff wrote petitions to EFCC because of envy or to blackmail the commission.
FACT: Contrary to his claims, the Association of Senior Civil Servants in Nigeria, NAHCON chapter, had written a petition to the management, dated March 3, 2025, and addressed to the NAHCON executive council and board members. Also, NAHCON board members petitioned Mr Pakistan for allegedly excluding them from performing their oversight functions through a letter dated March 13, 2025. There are also petitions by full-time Commissioners, State Pilgrims Boards, leadership of tour operators, airlines, some engaged Saudi service providers, some service providers who were shortchanged after parting with huge bribes, some presidential aides who were also shortchanged by Pakistan in sharing alleged kickbacks, some aggrieved disengaged personal staff of Mr Pakistan, some aggrieved pool staff redeployed to their agencies, and some pilgrims who fully paid their fares but were registered as staff spouses and NAHCON stakeholders list. There were also damning reports on the outing from ONSA, EFCC, DSS, NFIU, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, NIA, DIA, DMI, among others.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 6: Before his appointment, no NAHCON chairman paid staff estacode and allowances for 30 days.
FACT: Over the years, NAHCON staff were paid estacode for 45, 40, 35 days for many years. The payment of estacode is dependent on the revenue generated for that year. Malam Muhammad Musa Bello and Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad’s boards were known for fiscal discipline and compliance with budgetary provisions. Also, Jalal Ahmad Arabi attempted similar fiscal discipline. While the same can’t be said about Zikirullah Kunle Hassan’s tenure. Accounts documents on estacode and staff allowances and committees’ expenditure reviewed indicate that Mr Pakistan had recklessly overshot that subhead alone by over 300 percent, costing about 13 million US dollar, which is far above the total budget he submitted to the President, of about 12 million US dollar; which he applied through a memo dated April 30, 2025, with reference number NAHCON/A1/17/x/680. And this is one of the core issues under investigation by EFCC and DSS. This overshoot didn’t include 21 other subheads.
VERDICT: Misleading
CLAIM 7: NAHCON staff were forbidden from performing Hajj during operations for more than 10 years.
FACT: From the 1st to the 3rd NAHCON boards, staff were allowed to perform Hajj except those who volunteered not to. The prohibition policy was introduced by Zikirullah in 2023 that any staff who performed Hajj for five years with the commission should serve the pilgrims, except those who are retiring that year, and Jalal Ahmed Arabi, who stopped all staff from performing Hajj in 2024.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 8: Used his contacts to secure space in a building closer to Jamarat for some dignitaries.
FACT: The Tent A+ he is boasting of is about aone-hour walk to the Jamarat. He has failed to secure the original Tent A, which is about a five-minute walk to Jamarat, and has been used by Nigerians for decades. Therefore, Mr Pakistan’s negligence and lack of capacity led to Nigeria’s loss of its traditional Tent A to Pakistan during the 2025 Hajj.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 9: Acquired moderate English skills even though he cannot read or write in English.
FACT: Mr Pakistan’s admission that he is weak in English and never shy to also ask those who are more informed, has confirmed that some NAHCON files which contained minutes purportedly written by Mr Pakistan, while the handwriting analysis conducted revealed that there are at least four different types of handwriting which insiders allegedly said were handwriting of his erstwhile Special Adviser, Dr Shehu Makarfi, his biological brother Surajo Salisu Usman, his son Aliyu and that of his nephew Abdulamalik Diggi. Even after the exit of Makarfi, Surajo and Abdulmalik, the files in Mr Pakistan’s office are now being treated allegedly by Mr Abdulkadir Oloye and Haruna Danbaba.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 10: All Nigerian pilgrims got accommodation closer to the Haram than ever before in Madinah in 2025.
FACT: Partial movement of Nigerian pilgrims to Markaziyah started in 2014. By 2015, all Nigerian pilgrims had been fully moved to Markaziyah. Between 2015 and 2019, Nigerian pilgrims were lodged in some of the best hotels in Madinah, including Hilton, Darud Tawhid, Taiba Arak, and Marriott, among others. Truth is, during the 2025 Hajj under Mr Pakistan, some pilgrims were housed outside Markaziyah. And some rented houses outside Markaziyah were never used by the pilgrims, resulting in a colossal loss to Nigeria.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 11: Saved over N50 billion for Nigeria during the 2025 Hajj.
FACT: First, a reduction in any Hajj fare component is not savings. It is simply a process of negotiations by state pilgrims’ boards, not Mr Pakistan. Official documents have shown that between 2015 to 2019, the cost of a Hajj return ticket was reduced from $1,960 to $1,450. So, reductions in the Hajj fare component are not new and cannot be called savings, but a reduction in the component of the Hajj fare.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 12: Convinced all Hajj carriers to receive payments in naira during the 2025 Hajj operation.
FACT: In the history of Hajj in Nigeria, there havebeen interchanges in the mode and currency of payment. Again, payment of Hajj air carriers in naira in 2025 is nothing to be proud of since there is no disparity between the official and the open market price of the dollar since President Bola Tinubu’s coming to power. Official documents showed that Flynas was not paid in naira; it was paid in Saudi riyal.
VERDICT: False.
CLAIM 13: Persuading the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to drop a policy of issuing only credit cards to pilgrims for BTA.
FACT: The CBN wanted to introduce the use of ATM cards for pilgrims BTA since Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure. All previous NAHCON CEOs resisted the policy without involving the Vice President or the President. However, in 2025, it was the Vice President Kashim Shettima who intervened, leading to its suspension.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 14: Ability to get service providers to reduce Masha’ir services by 720 Saudi riyal per pilgrim.
FACT: It was the involvement of CEOs of state pilgrims’ boards in the negotiations during the 2025 Hajj that brought down the Masha’ir cost from 4,770 Saudi riyal to 4,050 Saudi riyal per pilgrim. Even for the 2026 Hajj, the states were able to get a further reduction of 150 Saudi riyal, making it 3,900 Saudi riyal.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 15: NAHCON commissioners ganged up against him because of envy:
FACT: Mr Pakistan’s autocratic style of leadership, nepotism, and cronyism made him disliked by others. In NAHCON, a public setup with a clear definition of roles where teamwork is expected, no one would tolerate this negative attitude of Pakistan. The Vice President had to scold Mr Pakistan that he should stop operating like a Sole Administrator in an official letter.
VERDICT: Misleading.
CLAIM 16: Denied ever recommending EkramDeif and later Rawaf Mina as sole service providers for Nigerian pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj.
FACT: He recommended Rawaf Mina to the Vice President via a letter dated September 11, 2025, with reference number NAHCON/AI/17/X/791; while Ekram Deif was recommended on June 14, 2025, while in Saudi Arabia.
VERDICT: False.
CONCLUSION: Lying is one of the greatest sins in Islam. Allah (SWT) says, “In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they (habitually)used to lie.” (Surah al- Baqarah, 2:10). Allah (SWT) says in another verse, “Surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful.” (Surah az-Zumar 39:3). And yet in another verse, the Almighty says, “… and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars.” (Surah Ali- Imran 3:61).
