A foremost youth group, the Nigerian Youth Patriots (NYP) has commended President Bola Tinubu for sacking the former Chairman of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi following a discrete investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC from its investigation into the suspicious use of funds allocated to NAHCON for Hajj operations, revealed a multi-million-dollar fraud perpetrated by the sacked Chairman, Arabi, and the Secretary of National Hajj Commission (NAHCON).
Among the crimes carried out by the Sacked Chairman, Mr Arabi and the secretary was a consultancy fee paid to Shuraka’a al-Khair Group Ltd to recover money already received in the commission’s account from the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
It was gathered that the sacked Chairman made an overpayment of estacodes to himself and staff members for a study tour that never took place.
He was said to have paid himself SAR 50,000, far above the SAR15,929 he was entitled, paid three commissioners SR40,000 each instead of SAR15,929, paid the secretary SR30,000 instead of SAR14,336, overpaid the directors and the chief of staff SAR30,000 each, when they were only entitled to SAR2,550 each, alongside several unaccounted cash withdrawals from the account of NAHCON and the mismanagement of N90 billion federal government subsidy for 2024 Hajj.
Reacting to the development, the NYP President, Amb. Timothy Nwachukwu eulogized the EFCC for its diligent investigation which revealed the monumental fraud that was undertaken by the embattled former Chairman.
He expressed sadness that the malaise of corruption has reached endemic proportions across all segments of Nigerian society, with the public service being perceived as the worst affected.
“The case of the National Haji Commission Chairman confirms how endemic corruption has eaten into the fabric of Nigerian society.
“Nigerians must support the EFCC by providing credible information that will lead to the arrest of individuals who are corruptly enriching themselves while holding public offices,” he said.
Amb. Nwachukwu further called on Nigerian public officeholders to discharge their duties honestly, responsibly, diligently, and transparently with accountability, for Nigeria to attain its developmental goals today and for future generations.
