‘NEMA need creative approach to funding’
A systemic reform of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) will be undertaken, the Presidency said yesterday.
The action will be sweeping will focus on negligence, maltreatment of pilgrims and late preparation for the pilgrimage, among others.
Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, dropped this hint during a fact-finding visit to NAHCON headquarters in continuation of his tour of agencies under the Presidency.
Among those on his entourage is Deputy Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Hadeija.
The delegations also visited the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), where Gbajabiamila highlighted the potential role of states in providing funding to the agency through an insurance scheme or other means.
Addressing the challenges at NAHCON, Gbajabiamila said: “This is a commission that should not be found in any controversy, simply because of its mandate and what it represents.
‘’It’s a religious commission. It’s a commission that is set up to fulfil religious and spiritual obligations for men and women of faith.
‘’So we are always surprised, even while I was Speaker, those issues that should never come up arise in this commission.
‘’Pilgrims travel every year to fulfil an Islamic religious obligation. Not only that, when they’re there, they’re there as ambassadors of Nigeria.
‘’As ambassadors of Nigeria, it is expected that they will carry the emblem and the flag of Nigeria on their full chest to represent and to show both in demeanour and conduct who and what we are.
‘’But many times, our pilgrims and fellow Nigerians face maltreatment or lack of proper organisation from this commission, and they end up sometimes not conducting themselves the way they should.
‘’The buck stops at the table of the commission and you must accept responsibility for what goes on here and in Saudi Arabia when Nigerian pilgrims are there,” he said.
Gbajabiamila urged the management staff to work closely with the Office of the Vice President, which oversees the agency, to identify past mistakes, make corrections and ensure seamless pilgrim operations.
Prince Malam Abdulrazak, NAHCON’s Executive Commissioner, Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, called for an overhaul of the Commission’s accounting system and improvement of federal character representation in the organisation.
“The Commission is described as a national entity, but the federal character is not fully represented.
“If you go through the nominal roll, it is dominated by a particular region,” Abdulrazak said.
At NEMA, the Chief of Staff stressed the need to shift disaster management in Nigeria from a reactive to a proactive approach.
‘’In turning the page, we must look more closely at the area of prevention because a lot of these disasters can be prevented,” he said.
Gbajabiamila suggested exploring creative funding methods, including state contributions through an insurance scheme.
NEMA Director-General, Mrs Zubaida Umar, said from January 2024 to date, the agency has provided 626,000 essential relief items to over 100,000 people across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to her, these include 288,875 food items, over 300,000 non-food items, and over 26,000 building materials.
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