The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it has successfully transported 32,549 Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage. This figure represents 79.1 percent of the total number of people registered to perform the holy journey this year.
According to a statement released on Wednesday in Madinah by Hajiya Fatima Usara, the Assistant Director of Information and Publication at NAHCON, the operation began on May 9 and has been carried out through 79 separate flights.
The first airlift was flagged off by Vice President Kashim Shettima in Owerri, Imo State, marking the beginning of what NAHCON described as a well-organized and incident-free transport phase.
Usara noted that several states including Adamawa and Plateau have already finished transporting all of their registered pilgrims. She added that states with only one flight remaining, such as Bauchi and Gombe—with 30 pilgrims each—are expected to complete their trips today.
“Jigawa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are also expected to complete their pilgrim transportation today,” she said.
NAHCON further explained that Kwara State, which has 137 pilgrims still waiting, will finalize its airlift by joining a Max Air flight departing from Kano on Wednesday afternoon.
Benue pilgrims, on the other hand, will be traveling in a combined flight with other South-South region pilgrims. Their journey, scheduled for May 23, marks the final stage of the southern region’s airlift operations.
“Importantly, no flight cancellations have been recorded since the airlift began,” Usara noted. “However, deliberate minor delays were arranged to allow for the proper clean-up and decongestion of hotels in Madinah, especially with the surge in arrivals.”
She also mentioned that the clean-up is a routine procedure done to ensure comfort and order as more pilgrims arrive. This process is especially important during peak seasons like the Hajj, where large numbers of guests require well-managed accommodations.
