The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the request of 2025 intending pilgrims to be granted cash transactions for the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.
This followed the intervention of Vice President Kashim Shettima, who appealed to President Bola Tinubu on behalf of the over 40,000 pilgrims through the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria on Thursday, 24 April, 2025.
NAHCON’s Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management and Finance, Aliu Abdulrazaq, who disclosed while speaking with newsmen after meeting with the Vice President at the State House, Abuja, confirmed that the CBN granted Nigerian pilgrims the opportunity of cash transactions for this year’s Hajj.
“The meeting was prompted by the policy of the Federal Government on the card for Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) for 2025 Hajj operations. We have held a series of meetings before now. The vice-president intervened and invited the Central Bank’s Deputy Governor with a plea.:03 / 1:01
“Out of the magnanimity of the CBN and appeal made by the vice-president, they dropped the idea of a card for pilgrims in the 2025 Hajj, and they conceded to people having cash instead of a card. This is a landmark achievement for NAHCON.
“If you go to Saudi Arabia, mostly the areas where the pilgrims are going to perform their rituals, there is only one Automated Teller Machine there, and it is always crowded – it poses so much difficulties for pilgrims to pay
