By The New Diplomat political Desk
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has confirmed that it has begun probing some officials of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over an alleged mismanagement of the sum of N90 billion advanced to Hajj as subsidy.
This was confirmed by the spokesperson of the ICPC, Demolish Bakare.
Bakare, who spoke with the press, said that some of the officials of NAHCON have been arrested by the operatives of the anti-graft agency since last week Wednesday.
He said the arrests were made after the officials failed to honour an earlier invitation extended to them by the anti-graft agency.
Bakare also explained that the officials are being grilled following allegations that the N90 billion subsidy granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2024 Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, was mismanaged.
Bakare stated: “We are investigating officials of the National Hajj Commission because they either failed or refused to honour an invitation. We therefore paid them a friendly visit.
“We didn’t shut down the commission as reported by some journalists. ICPC operates within the confines of the law. The officials who were arrested, though not named, have been released on bail and will continue to assist with the investigation process until it is concluded,” he said.
It would be recalled that following the announcement of the approval of the N90bn Hajj Subsidy, complaints emerged from some pilgrims who said that despite the subsidy, arrangements for the welfare of Nigerian pilgrims fell below standards.
Also, Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State had specifically raised the alarm over what he described as a shoddy arrangement and vowed to report NAHCON to the Governors’ Forum and the National Assembly.
