The Sokoto State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has called out the centralisation of Hajj passport processing in Abuja and Lagos, stating that the setup now takes three weeks instead of one.
Speaking to journalists in Sokoto during an update on 2027 Hajj preparations, the agency chairman, Alhaji Aliyu Musa, explained that the current system created by the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) is creating unnecessary bottlenecks for intending pilgrims.
Under the old process, pilgrims could secure their travel documents within a week, but because applications are now routed through central hubs in Abuja and Lagos, processing times have tripled.
In a statement issued by the agency’s spokesperson, Faruku Umar, the agency appealed to the Comptroller General of Immigration to decentralise passport issuance and restore local processing.
Despite the slowdown, Sokoto State has registered 3,058 intending pilgrims for the 2027 Hajj exercise. The total figure includes an extra 300 slots given to Sokoto by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). These additional seats were drawn from a 10,000-slot quota allocated to Nigeria by the Saudi Arabian government and distributed across state boards and private travel operators.
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