The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday grilled the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Jalal Arabi, over alleged mismanagement of 2024 Hajj exercise fund.
Arabi was at the office of the anti-graft agency to answer questions on how the commission spent the N90 billion subsidy for the exercise.
There were petitions against the chairman and the commission’s management over alleged fund mismanagement, especially during the 2024 hajj exercise.
An authoritative source from the commission said Arabi was at the anti-graft agency to provide detailed explanations on how NAHCON managed the funds allocated to it for the pilgrims.
“As of now, NAHCON chairman has been invited, he is already being interrogated by our crack detectives to provide explanations on some issues that border on allegations of fund mismanagement in the commission.
“The investigation is ongoing; it is dated back to 2021, when the issue of fraud in the commission became messier.
According to the source, three directors from the commission have been invited to explain what they know about the issue.
‘’Now, the Chief Executive Officer has been invited to explain how the fund allocated to the commission is being spent.
‘” The investigation will continue until EFCC gets to the root of how the fund allocated to the commission was spent.”
According to the source, the chairman may not be detained in as much as there is a guarantee that he will make himself available when asked to do so.
According to him, the new EFCC is operating in accordance with international best practices and that most of the people invited are always allowed to go if they comply with the anti-graft agency.
