Gateway Air set to transport Hajj pilgrims, Gov Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has announced that Gateway Air, the state-owned airline, is ready to transport not just Ogun pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Hajj but also those from other South-West states.

The governor mentioned that Ogun will look for ways to be part of the new private-sector-driven Hajj airlift plan, especially for pilgrims from Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.

Abiodun shared this on Friday when he met with a team from the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON). The team was led by its Commissioner of Operations, Anofiu Elegushi, at his office.

He said the state government has taken note of the new rules for private-sector involvement in Hajj operations. He praised NAHCON for its help in making sure Ogun pilgrims were safely airlifted from the Gateway International Airport to Saudi Arabia during the previous Hajj.

The governor expressed that the state has always wanted to charter a flight under the Gateway Air name to transport its pilgrims directly from the Gateway International Airport.

"We have always shown interest that, based on what we saw last time, we would like to charter our own aircraft. We want to brand it Gateway Air, and we want to transport our pilgrims ourselves because we believe we can do it well.

"The same level of efficiency we showed in building a world-class airport and establishing Gateway Air proves that we know how to organize things in Ogun State.

"The support and teamwork we had with NAHCON was commendable and a good example.

"For us, it was about helping our pilgrims to reach the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comfortably. We invested in a world-class airport, and we thought the best way for our people to enjoy that airport was for our pilgrims to fly from there.

"It was quite challenging, but you supported us and we worked through the difficulties, and in the end, everything turned out well," he said.

While thanking NAHCON for sharing the new Hajj regulations from Saudi Arabia, Abiodun noted that starting registration early for the next Hajj showed how prepared and organized the commission is.

Speaking about religious peace in Ogun, Governor Abiodun remarked that the state remains calm and has not faced any religious conflicts under his leadership. He credited this to the good relationship among the people, regardless of their religions.

Abiodun also welcomed NAHCON's idea that South-West states should join forces to create a single body, like the Oodua Investment structure, to act as a private representative for the states and coordinate Hajj operations.

He said he would present this idea to others in the Oodua Investment Group for discussion.

Earlier, NAHCON Commissioner of Operations, Mr Anofiu Elegushi, announced that the commission has started registration for the upcoming Hajj. He added that the registration deadline, which was supposed to end on Friday, would be extended to allow more intending pilgrims to register.

Elegushi explained that the early start for registration was needed to give Saudi authorities accurate numbers of intending pilgrims before the Hajj.

"The reason for this early registration is because Saudi Arabia wants to know the number of pilgrims in advance so that they can prepare properly for the number the commission will bring for the Hajj operation.

"The registration portal is currently closed, but by God's grace, it will be reopened for the registration process before the end of today.

"We have also noticed that the available slots are not enough. We are working on that to ensure we get more slots so more pilgrims can go," he said.

Elegushi congratulated the Ogun State Government for what he called a significant achievement in ensuring that the first group of Ogun pilgrims flew directly from the Gateway International Airport to Saudi Arabia.

He said this achievement will be important in the history of Ogun State and the whole South-West.

According to him, Saudi Arabia used to give Nigeria about 95,000 Hajj slots, but this number has now dropped to 50,000, with 10,000 going to tour operators and the remaining 40,000 shared among the states.

He explained that this reduction is related to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims for more private-sector involvement and digitalization of Hajj and Umrah operations.

Elegushi added that NAHCON also conducts pre-Hajj visits to Saudi Arabia, where states find accommodation and service providers for their pilgrims.

He mentioned that Saudi Arabia had indicated that 98 percent of the Hajj quota would go to private operators, leaving only two percent for government operations.

This situation led NAHCON to encourage states to think about privatizing their Hajj operations and competing as private operators in the country.

He noted that one major challenge is that Saudi authorities require any company wishing to operate independently to have at least 2,000 pilgrims.

He stated that even Lagos State does not meet this requirement, which makes it hard for individual states in the South-West to comply.

Elegushi said NAHCON is now looking at creating a single South-West company, similar to the Oodua Investment structure, to gather pilgrims from participating states to meet the Saudi requirement.

He urged Governor Abiodun to ensure that Ogun State is successful in using Gateway Air to transport its pilgrims, just as it did during the last Hajj.

He revealed that payment for the upcoming Hajj is still ongoing, with all payments expected to be completed by December 2, 2026.

He added that pilgrims’ data will be collected before the airlift starts, which is expected to begin around late April or early May.

Elegushi also shared that the Saudi Arabian authorities have introduced about nine new health policies, including screening for nine specific diseases before pilgrims can go.

He praised the Ogun State Government for following health rules during the last Hajj and encouraged the state to keep this up to ensure all its pilgrims are in good standing for the next Hajj.