The Commissioner for Policy, Personnel, and Finance (PPMF) at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Aliyu Abdulrazaq, has strongly denied allegations that he is favouring staff from the South-South region in the selection process for the 2025 Hajj operation.
The denial comes in response to a recent report alleging racketeering and ethnic bias in the recruitment of ad hoc staff for the upcoming pilgrimage. The report suggested that sectional interests had influenced staff selection, following the inauguration of the Principal Officers of the National Medical Team (NMT) and its Steering Committee by NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman.
The claims pointed specifically at Abdulrazaq, accusing him of enlisting primarily staff from the South-South zone his region of origin.
However, in a statement issued over the weekend, Abdulrazaq, who hails from Edo State, described the accusations as “baseless” and lacking any factual foundation.
“The entire workforce of the National Hajj Commission is 420, and the South-South has fewer than 10 staff members nationwide,” he stated. “The percentage of staff from the South-South in the commission is not up to one percent of the total workforce.”
Abdulrazaq also defended the commission’s approach to regional representation, saying that efforts toward federal character balancing are ongoing and necessary.
“There is a need for federal character balancing. The Commissioner for PPMF remains the most transparent,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to fairness and equity in the Hajj staff selection process.
The Commissioner urged the public to disregard what he termed deliberate misinformation, and reiterated NAHCON’s dedication to a merit-based and transparent process for organizing the 2025 Hajj operation.