Sokoto pilgrims’ board decries Hajj passport centralisation – Daily Trust

The Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency (PWA) has described the centralisation of Hajj passport issuance in Abuja and Lagos as a major bottleneck, saying the process now takes up to three weeks instead of the one week it previously required.
The chairman of the agency, Alhaji Aliyu Musa, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Sokoto on preparations for the 2027 Hajj.
In a statement by the Head of Information and Communications of the agency, Faruku Umar, the agency boss appealed to the Comptroller General of Immigration to decentralise the passport issuance process, saying the current arrangement was causing delays in preparations for the pilgrimage.
Meanwhile, he said the agency has registered 3,058 intending pilgrims for the 2027 Hajj, including those accommodated under the additional 300 slots recently allocated to the state by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
He said the additional slots were part of the 10,000 allocated to Nigeria by the Saudi Arabian Government and distributed to states across the country and tour operators by NAHCON.