NAHCON Act on
NAHCON Act on Tenures of Hajj Commission Chair and
Commissioners By Ibrahim Muhammed
“There is no shame in not knowing; the shame lies in not finding
out” – Rusian Proverb
Hajj administration in Nigeria witnessed a historic moment on
Thursday, 24th May 2007 inside the Olusegun Obasanjo hall in the
office of The Head of Civil Service of the Federation. It was the
day hajj administration was erected on a pillar of law and defines
regulations. That was the day the then Secretary to the government
of the federation, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed formally inaugurates members
of the boards of the national hajj commission of Nigeria. Hajj
operations took an upward swing since that historic day.
Members of the national hajj commission inaugurated on that day
are: Alhaji Muhammed Musa Bello, the current Minister of FCT as
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer. The Full-time commissioners are:
Alhaji Liadi Tella and Dr Badmus O. Yusuf. Part-Time members
representing Geo-political zones are Sheikh Adams Idoko
representing South East Zone, Alhaja Fatimah Oyekan representing
South West Zone, Alhaji Ahmed Efebili representing South-South
Zone, Sheikh Musa Isa representing North Central Zone. Alhaji
Salisu Ado Shinkafi from North West. Zone and Hajiya Hannatu Sanda
Birma amount to North East Zone
Please, permit me to share with you some vital parts of the
inaugural speech of the then secretary to the government of the
federation vis-a-vis the position of the NAHCON ESTABLISHMENT ACT
2006 as it relates to the office of Chairman and other members of
the commission.
In the second paragraph of his inaugural speech he said and I
quote “The Constitution of Nigeria, the enabling Act of the
Commission as well as Public Service Rules and Financial
Regulations are the vital documents that would guide the operations
of the Commission.” Here, it is clearly stated that Hajj
commissions is a child of legal surgery and must be guided by the
enabling law and not individual prejudice. No alternative.
The fourth paragraph of the inaugural speech highlighted the
administrative life span of occupants of each office.” The Act of
the The commission is very clear about your tenure and
responsibilities. You are expected to serve for a period of four
(4) years in the first instance, renewable for a second and final
term of four years.”
Furthermore, NAHCON ACT 2006 separated the office of Chairman as
a distinct office from the three permanent commissioners. Office of
Chairman as the chief accounting officer is not the same as the
office of Permanent Commissioners as contained in NAHCON
establishment 2006.
On the composition of the commission, Section 3 (1) stated that
the commission shall consist of (A) The chairman who shall be: i)
The Chief Executives and accounting officer of the commission; ii)
Responsible for the commission for the day to day management of the
commission.
This was followed by section 3 sub-section (b) which stated that
“Three full-term members and six part-time members representing two
geopolitical zones two who shall be women.
Interpretatively, Section 3 (A) sub-section 1 and 2 stands on
its own and it clearly defines the office of chairman while section
3 (B) deals with the appointment of permanent commissioners.
This shows that there is a clear difference between the office
of the Chairman of NAHCON and that of the permanent
commissioners.
Consequently, whoever occupies the office of Permanent
Commissioner for 8 years can be appointed as Chairman for another
eight years. That is the position of NAHCON Establishment Act
2006.
Moreover, the current Ag Chairman and the commissioner in charge
of operation have served only one term in office as Chairman and
Commissioner of Operation respectively.
Their reappointment in acting capacity falls within the scope of
NAHCON act as they can still be considered for another term
(second-term) of 4 years or be allowed to operate pending when new
boards are constituted.
Likewise, the 1999 constitution forbade anyone who has served as
Executive Governor of a state for two terms of 4 years (8 years)
from contesting for Governor for another term. However, no law in
Nigeria prevents someone who has served as a state deputy Governor
for 8 years from serving as Executive Governor for 4 or 8 years or
is there any?
Moreover, President Muhamadu Buhari administrative policies have
been that of consolidation of service delivery through Ministries,
departments and agencies. This commendable vision saw the second
coming of the Governor of Central Bank Godwin Emefiele. The
chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal
Commission (RMAFC), Elias Mbam was also reappointed due to his good
record.
The current Ag NAHCON Chairman, Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammed and
his team are widely acknowledged as the engine inside the moving
transformation vehicle in NAHCON in the last 8 years. They deserve
a second term as Chairman of NAHCON to consolidate the gains of
their achievements.
Finally, we may wish to note that Section 20(1) of the National
Hajj Commission Act 2006 squarely places the supervision of the
Commission under the Presidency. So, if for example, the Presidency
whose responsibility it is to supervise NAHCON says it is satisfied
with the status quo, who am I to say otherwise?
Ibrahim Muhammed
National Coordinator
Independent Hajj Reporters