The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that 2,717 Nigerian pilgrims will not be able to travel for the 2025 Hajj because the Saudi Arabian visa portal has been closed.
In a statement on Monday, Fatima Usara, the Assistant Director of Information at NAHCON, said the commission tried hard to ask the Saudi authorities to reopen the portal, even for just one hour, but it was not successful.
“Despite concerted efforts to get the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to consider the re-opening of the visa portal, even for an hour, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is saddened that this was not achieved. Hence, the visa suspension affected 2,717 pilgrims who had late registration from both sides,” the statement said.
NAHCON advised those affected to take heart, reminding them that Hajj is a special call from Allah.
The commission also warned future pilgrims to always complete their Hajj plans on time to avoid this kind of problem.
It explained that it had already extended the visa deadline four times and made arrangements since February for both public and private Hajj operators. Despite this, some intending pilgrims paid their Hajj fares late.
Visa processing finally stopped on May 19, 2025. Before then, NAHCON said a total of 13,217 visas had already been given to Tour Operator Companies out of 14,158 registered pilgrims, showing strong participation from the private Hajj sector.
The commission also expressed worry about reports that some operators were working with other groups to provide special Tent A+ services without NAHCON’s approval.
It warned that only the Rawaf Mina Company is officially allowed to provide Tent A+ services during the 2025 Hajj. Any other arrangement, it said, would be at the pilgrims’ own risk.
Lastly, NAHCON promised to keep working with the Saudi authorities to make sure both public and private Hajj operators follow the rules and provide good services to Nigerian pilgrims.
