Former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, in a tweet on his official X ,formerly Twitter, handle, made the claim, raising concerns about the Saudi authorities tightening visa rules.
However, NAHCON’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Fatima Usara, denied the claims, noting that neither the Saudi or Nigerian authorities had a record of such persons.
Senator Sani’s claim comes days after President Bola Tinubu sacked the former Chairman of the Hajj commission, Jalal Arabi, over alleged mismanagement and diversion of N90bn Hajj subsidy funds provided by the government.
Reports say that 51,477 pilgrims from Nigeria attended the recently concluded Hajj exercise in Jeddah and Mina, after paying a total of N6.9m to perform the religious exercise.
While the inaugural flight for the 2024 Hajj exercise departed the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Kebbi with 422 pilgrims on May 15, 2024, the final return flight landed in Ilorin Kwara State, with 286 pilgrims on July 16, 2024.
Senator Sani’s claim would imply that all 600 pilgrims have remained in Saudi Arabia for about six weeks since the end of the pilgrimage exercise.
Meanwhile, a former Grand Kadi in the the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Abdullahi Haroon ,retd., has urged the Federal Government to ensure a thorough probe of the N90bn Hajj subsidy mismanagement.
The retired jurist said as a guest of the King of Saudi Arabia during the just concluded Hajj rites, some pilgrims confided in him that they were paid $200 instead of $500 as a travelling allowance.