N10 Billion Hajj Funds: Kebbi Govt Debunks Misleading Story
From : Ayodele Ajoge, Birnin-Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government has described as misleading and grossly unbalanced, the publication by Sahara Reporters of December 8, 2025, titled “Kebbi Allocates N10 Billion for 1,300 Hajj Seats, Exceeds Water, Health, Education Budgets Combined.”
The report, which attempted to compare an emergency financial intervention with the state’s sectoral budget performance, is not only inaccurate but also deliberately designed to misinform the public and malign the image of the administration of Comrade, Dr. Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu.
For clarity, the N10 billion referenced by Sahara Reporters is not a budgetary allocation for Hajj activities. It is a loan released to the Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Agency to be fully repaid into government coffers after the final collection of fares from intending pilgrims.
The loan was approved solely to enable the Agency to meet the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria ( NAHCON) December 5, 2025 deadline for payment of the 2026 Hajj fares nationwide.
At the expiration of the deadline, Kebbi State still had 1,300 unpaid seats out of the 3,300 allocated to the state by NAHCON for the 2026 Hajj.
The Kebbi state government therefore,purchased the outstanding seats before the closure of payment from NAHCON , thereby creating an additional ten- day window at the state level for other intending pilgrims to secure their seats.
The Executive Chairman of the Pilgrims Welfare Agency, Alhaji Faruku Aliyu Yaro, explained to Journalists on December 6, 2025, that the Governor’s approval was granted on compassionate ground as a responsive and caring administration to its people.
The action is also tailored to enable the state fills its quota and give more Muslims the opportunity to perform the 2026 Hajj rather than lose the unpaid seats.
It is important to emphasize that the N10b loan will be fully refunded to the state government once pilgrims complete their payment of Hajj fares. It does not constitute government expenditure, nor does it replace or diminish budgetary allocations to health, education, water resources, or any other critical sector.
Sahara Reporters’ attempt to equate a recoverable loan with sectoral capital budget allocation is mischievous ill-willed and intentionally misleading.
Contrary to the impression created by Sahara Reporters, the administration of Comrade Nasir Idris remains firmly committed to strengthening essential public services.
In less than three years of the incumbent administration, significant resources have been injected into healthcare, education, and water infrastructure to address inherited longstanding decay, upgrade facilities, and strengthen service delivery throughout the state.
To further dispel sahara Reporters false claims, below is the actual breakdown of the 2025 Budget of Kebbi State for the three sectors- Education, Health, and Water Resources—captured in the 2025 Budget of Kebbi State, which Sahara Reporters falsely claimed were less than the ₦10 billion released to secure 1,300 seats for the 2026 Hajj exercise.
The allocations are as follows: Ministry for Basic & Secondary Education – ₦40,292,466,800.42; Ministry for Higher Education – ₦16,302,785,587.92; and Ministry of Health – ₦53,564,687,449.94.This brings the grand total expenditure for the three sectors to₦110,159,939,838.28 (One Hundred and Ten Billion, One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Million, Nine Hundred and Thirty-Nine Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Eight Naira, Twenty-Eight Kobo Only). The figures clearly demonstrate the substantial investment the Kebbi State Government has committed to these critical sectors in the 2025 fiscal year.
From the above data, it is evident that the claim made by Sahara Reporters is completely false and misleading. The ₦10 billion allocated for the 2026 Hajj seats is nowhere near the total expenditure for the Education, Health, and Water Resources sectors. Therefore, the assertion that the Hajj allocation surpasses these sectoral budgets is not only inaccurate but entirely unfounded.
