NITDA, NAHCON Partner to Digitise Nigeria’s Hajj Operations

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) have agreed to deepen collaboration towards the full digitalisation of Nigeria’s Hajj operations.

The partnership emerged from a high-level meeting at NITDA’s headquarters in Abuja, where NAHCON Chairman, Ambassador Ismail Yusuf Abba, sought the agency’s technical expertise, training and guidance to strengthen the commission’s digital and operational capacity.

Ambassador Abba highlighted the need to modernise critical aspects of the Hajj process, including hybrid registration, payment verification, flight manifest management, logistics coordination and real-time tracking of pilgrims.

Although NAHCON has introduced several digital solutions, including electronic registration systems, automated manifests, medical tracking and the GPS-enabled Hajj Companions mobile application, the commission continues to face constraints in its internal ICT capacity. With only two developers currently on staff, the NAHCON chairman stressed the need to build the skills of existing ICT personnel and strengthen the commission’s digital infrastructure.

Responding to the request, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, emphasised that effective digital transformation goes beyond deploying software. He said sustainable transformation requires the integration of people, processes, organisational culture and technology.

Inuwa also highlighted the importance of developing systems that can withstand changes in leadership, eliminate data silos and leverage artificial intelligence to support smarter decision-making.

According to him, a modernised Hajj digital framework should provide end-to-end visibility across the pilgrim journey, from initial savings and registration to travel, accommodation, medical support and post-pilgrimage logistics.

Reaffirming NITDA’s commitment to the initiative, the Director-General pledged technical assistance, hands-on training and IT project clearance to promote quality assurance and minimise challenges commonly associated with public-sector technology projects.