Gateway Air Ready to Airlift Hajj Pilgrims — Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has expressed the readiness of Gateway Air, the state-owned airline, to airlift not only Ogun pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj, but also intending pilgrims from other South-West states.

The Governor said Ogun would explore opportunities to participate in the emerging private-sector-driven Hajj airlift arrangement, particularly for pilgrims from Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

Abiodun disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), led by its Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, at his office.

The Governor said the state government had taken note of the new regulations governing private-sector participation in Hajj operations, while commending NAHCON for its support towards ensuring the successful and safe airlift of Ogun pilgrims from the Gateway International Airport to Saudi Arabia during the last Hajj exercise.

He said the state had always expressed its desire to charter an aircraft under the Gateway Air brand to airlift its pilgrims directly from the Gateway International Airport.

“We had always expressed interest that, based on what we saw last time, we would like to charter our own aircraft. We would like to brand it Gateway Air, and we would like to airlift our pilgrims ourselves because we believe that we can do it efficiently.

“The same level of efficiency that we demonstrated in building a world-class airport and also in establishing a world-class airline, Gateway Air, shows that we know how to do things and organise ourselves in Ogun State.

“The motivation and collaboration that we enjoyed with NAHCON was commendable and exemplary.

“For us, it was about facilitating our pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conveniently. We have invested in a world-class airport, and we thought there was no better way for our citizens to begin to enjoy that airport than for our pilgrims to board their flights from that airport.

“It was quite a challenge, but you held our hands and we both navigated through all the bumps and, at the end of the day, everything went very well,” he said.

While thanking NAHCON for sharing with the state government the new Hajj regulations released by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abiodun said the early commencement of registration for the next Hajj exercise demonstrated the level of preparedness and organisation of the commission.

Speaking on religious harmony in Ogun, the Governor said the state had remained peaceful and had not witnessed any religious crisis under his administration.

He attributed this to the harmonious relationship among the people of the state, irrespective of their religious affiliations.

Abiodun also welcomed NAHCON’s suggestion that South-West states should come together to establish a single body, similar to the Oodua Investment structure, that could serve as a private representative for the participating states and coordinate Hajj operations on their behalf.

He said he would present the proposal to other members of the Oodua Investment Group for consideration.

Earlier, the NAHCON Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, said the commission had commenced registration for the forthcoming Hajj exercise, adding that the registration deadline, which was initially expected to close on Friday, would be extended to accommodate more intending pilgrims.

Elegushi explained that the early commencement of registration was necessitated by the need to provide the Saudi Arabian authorities with accurate figures of intending pilgrims ahead of the exercise.

“The reason for this early registration is because Saudi Arabia wants to know the number of pilgrims in time so that they can prepare for the number and have enough preparation for the number the commission will be bringing for the Hajj operation.

“The portal has been shut now, but by the grace of God, before the end of today, the portal will be reopened for the registration process.

“We have also noticed that the slots are inadequate. We are also working on that to make sure we get more slots so that we have more pilgrims on board,” he said.

Elegushi congratulated the Ogun State Government on what he described as a landmark achievement in ensuring that the first batch of Ogun pilgrims travelled directly from the Gateway International Airport to Saudi Arabia.

He said the feat would remain significant in the history of Ogun State and the entire South-West.

According to him, Saudi Arabia had traditionally allocated about 95,000 Hajj slots to Nigeria, but the quota had gradually dropped to 50,000, with 10,000 allocated to tour operators and the remaining 40,000 shared among the states.

He said the development was linked to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, under which the Kingdom was seeking greater private-sector participation and digitalisation of Hajj and Umrah operations.

Elegushi disclosed that NAHCON also undertakes pre-Hajj visits to Saudi Arabia, during which states are expected to identify accommodation facilities, contractors and service providers for their pilgrims.

He said the Kingdom had initially indicated that 98 percent of the Hajj quota would be allocated to private operators, leaving two percent for government operations.

This, he explained, prompted NAHCON to encourage the states to begin considering the privatisation of their Hajj operations and participate as private operators capable of competing with other operators in the country.

He, however, said one of the major challenges was the requirement by the Saudi authorities that any company seeking to operate independently must have a minimum of 2,000 pilgrims.

According to him, even Lagos State currently does not have the required number of pilgrims, making it difficult for individual states in the South-West to meet the requirement.

Elegushi said NAHCON had consequently considered the possibility of establishing a single South-West company, similar to the Oodua Investment structure, which would pool pilgrims from the participating states and meet the Saudi requirement.

The Commissioner urged Governor Abiodun to ensure that Ogun State also succeeds in using Gateway Air to airlift its pilgrims, just as the state successfully used the Gateway International Airport to airlift pilgrims during the last Hajj exercise.

He disclosed that payment for the forthcoming Hajj was still ongoing, with all payments expected to be completed by December 2, 2026.

He added that the uploading of pilgrims’ data would close ahead of the commencement of the airlift, which is expected to begin around the end of April or early May.

Elegushi further disclosed that the Saudi Arabian authorities had introduced about nine new health-related policies, including the screening of intending pilgrims for nine specified diseases before they are cleared for the pilgrimage.

He commended the Ogun State Government for its compliance with health protocols during the last Hajj exercise, urging the state to sustain its support and ensure that no default is recorded among its pilgrims during the forthcoming exercise.