Vice President Kashim Shettima has cautioned the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), Prof. Abdullahi Saleh-Usman, against operating as a sole administrator in managing the commission’s affairs.
This warning was conveyed in a letter dated March 17, 2025, with reference number SH/OVP/DCOS/NAHCON, titled “Re-Deliberate Exclusion from the Exercise of Oversight Functions.”
The vice president issued this directive in response to allegations of procurement process violations, gross misconduct, the sidelining of board members, and the illegal appointment of aides, among other issues.
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Eight NAHCON board members had previously petitioned the vice president regarding the chairman’s alleged abuse of power.
In a letter signed by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Shettima expressed disapproval of the NAHCON chairman’s practice of forming committees to make decisions on behalf of the board, which violates the commission’s act.
“The act does not envisage a sole administrator role and each member has a responsibility to the zone or entity he or she represents especially with regards all decisions relating to pilgrims’ welfare.
Their letter states that they raised these issues at a meeting on February 4th 2025 where the chairman acknowledged and apologised for the lapses but apparently did nothing to address them going forward,” the letter stated.
Hadejia urged the chairman to ensure that commission members are given their due roles as outlined in the NAHCON act, to prevent them from being rendered redundant, and to guarantee that all major commission decisions comply with the law.
In a separate letter titled “Re: Request for Special Waiver to Appoint 3 Retired Officers on Contract,” also signed by Hadejia, the vice president warned the NAHCON chairman against rehiring former or external staff members.3
The letter read: “His Excellency the Vice President has expressed a strong objection to rehiring former staff of the commission on contract basis or engaging external civil servants to the detriment of your staff that are assigned the roles and responsibilities they are employed to perform. Doing so will engender redundancy and create unnecessary discord and rancour within NAHCOM’s ranks.”
The NAHCON chairman was “therefore advised to reverse any such engagements and instruct your Human Resources unit to do a proper mandate and capability assessment of your workforce so you can reassign roles and responsibilities or build up capacities where necessary.”
The vice president’s office also cautioned the NAHCON chairman against breaching State House protocol when submitting official communications to the vice president.
“I refer to your letter ref: NAHCON/ Al/17/XI/645, dated 11th February 2025, but received in my office on 17th of March due to a breach in the OVP correspondence protocol. Hand carrying official correspondence and passing, same to individual personnel, is a flagrant breach of State House external mail protocol and will not be tolerated,” the letter stated.
The six-page petition, dated March 13, 2025, and titled “Deliberate Exclusion from the Oversight Functions,” was reportedly received in the vice president’s office on March 14, 2025, and forwarded to the NAHCON chairman’s office on the same day.
The board members alleged that despite Section 4(1) of the NAHCON Establishment Act, 2006, outlining the commission’s basic functions, they have been insufficiently involved in most of these functions.
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