2026 Hajj: Kebbi govt pays N10bn loan to secure 1,300 seats

Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris has approved the release of N10 billion loan to secure 1,300 additional slots for the state’s intending pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj exercise.

The Chairman of the Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Faruku Aliyu-Yaro, made this known while addressing a press conference in his office in Birnin Kebbi on Saturday.

Aliyu-Yaro said the governor deserved special prayers from the people of Kebbi State in view of his intervention which he said rescued many intending pilgrims who would have missed the exercise.

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) had fixed December 5 as the payments deadline for the 2026 Hajj fare with no provision for extension.

However, following Governor Idris’s intervention, the chairman announced that Kebbi State pilgrims now have additional ten days to complete their payments.

He stated that intending pilgrims from across the 21 Local Government Areas of Kebbi State have until December 16, to make their payments through their Local Government Hajj Guides or at the agency’s headquarters in Birnin Kebbi.

He said: “I am glad to announce the extension of the deadline for intending pilgrims to make payments for the 2026 Hajj up to December 16.

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“The extension followed the release of N10 billion by Governor Nasir Idris to secure 1,300 additional Hajj seats for the state.
With this development, the door is now open for all intending pilgrims to make their payments of N7,696,769 up to Monday, December 16, 2025.”

Aliyu-Yaro added that the gestures ensures that no resident willing to perform the pilgrimage next year is left behind.

Aliyu-Yaro further stated that the intervention not only safeguarded the state’s hajj allocation but also provided financial relief for many intending pilgrims who feared they might miss the hajj exercise.

He assured that the agency had already commenced all necessary arrangements to process payments, documentation, and other preparatory requirements for eligible applicants.

The Chairman also revealed that NAHCON had formally approved Flynas as the official carrier to airlift 2026 intending pilgrims from Kebbi State to and from Saudi Arabia.

Aliyu-Yaro commended Idris for what he described as a timely, compassionate, and people-centred intervention.

The Star