Saudi Arabia okays additional 10,000 Hajj slots for Nigeria

Saudi Arabia has approved an additional 10,000 slots for Nigerian pilgrims for the 2027 Hajj exercise, bringing Nigeria’s total allocation to 60,000.

The approval by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah came less than two weeks after the ministry initially rejected Nigeria’s request for an increase in its 2027 allocation.

Diplomatic engagements

The development followed diplomatic engagements involving the Federal Government, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and Saudi authorities.

Saudi Arabia had previously maintained Nigeria’s Hajj allocation at 50,000 slots for the 2025, 2026 and 2027 pilgrimage exercises, after reducing the country’s quota from 95,000, which Nigeria had enjoyed for nearly two decades.

Based on the initial 50,000 allocation for 2027, NAHCON had distributed 35,000 slots to states and the armed forces, while 15,000 slots were allocated to private Hajj tour operators.

However, state Muslim pilgrims’ welfare boards and private tour operators had continued to demand additional slots to accommodate more intending pilgrims.

Following the requests, NAHCON approached the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for an upward review of Nigeria’s allocation. The commission, however, announced on September 17 that the request had been rejected.

According to NAHCON, the Saudi authorities cited capacity limitations, structural constraints at the holy sites and the Kingdom’s policy of maintaining approved country quotas under the existing operational framework.

The decision meant Nigeria’s allocation remained at 50,000 despite growing demand from intending pilgrims across the country.

Saudi reverses decision

However, Tribune Online reported that the Saudi authorities later reversed the decision following further diplomatic engagements between officials of both countries.

Sources within NAHCON said the commission received a formal communication from the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah before the close of work on Wednesday, confirming the approval of the additional 10,000 slots.

One of the sources said the development would enable Nigeria to register more intending pilgrims for next year’s pilgrimage.

The additional allocation comes after the September 26 deadline set by the Saudi authorities for the uploading of intending pilgrims’ registration data on the Nusuk Masar platform.

A source said the platform would remain open to allow the details of newly registered pilgrims to be uploaded following the increase in Nigeria’s quota.

The source said, “Following diplomatic engagements between the Federal Government, NAHCON and Saudi authorities, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Wednesday communicated approval of an additional 10,000 slots to Nigeria.

“This means that we now have the opportunity of registering more intending pilgrims for next year’s Hajj. This is, indeed, good news.”

As of the time of filing the report, NAHCON had not issued an official statement on the additional allocation.

It also remained unclear how the 10,000 additional slots would be distributed among states and private Hajj operators, both of whom had previously sought increased allocations.