Omotayo Adigun
In a significant policy reversal, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the disbursement of Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) in cash for the 2025 Hajj pilgrims, abandoning its earlier plan to mandate the use of debit cards.
This decision follows a direct intervention by Vice President Kashim Shettima, who appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on behalf of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and the pilgrims.
The Vice President’s appeal highlighted the practical difficulties a card-only policy would impose on the predominantly rural and financially less-literate Nigerian pilgrims.
NAHCON’s Commissioner for Policy, Personnel Management & Finance, Aliu Abdulrazaq, confirmed the CBN’s decision after a meeting with the Vice President, stating that the CBN had granted pilgrims the option of cash transactions for the upcoming Hajj.
Abdulrazaq explained that the meeting was convened to address the CBN’s initial policy requiring pilgrims to use debit cards for their BTA.
He stated, “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.”
He further detailed the logistical challenges pilgrims would face in Saudi Arabia with a card-only system, noting the limited availability of ATMs in pilgrimage areas and the digital literacy barriers faced by the majority of Nigerian pilgrims, who are often peasant farmers.
“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 purchase whatever they want to purchase. Secondly, 95 per cent of the pilgrims from Nigeria are peasant farmers, and they have difficulties with electronic payments. Even with the cash, some of them have difficulties identifying the currencies. These variables make it important for them to have the cash they are used to.”
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Abdulrazaq expressed confidence that this decision would significantly streamline Hajj operations for Nigerian pilgrims.
“From now on, we are even more confident that the Hajj operations will be very seamless for the pilgrims. All arrangements have been in top gear, but the BTA was our fear; today, the fear has now been addressed.”
NAHCON’s Secretary, Dr. Mustapha Muhammad Ali, clarified that the CBN’s decision was not a concession or subsidy from the government but a practical adjustment to the payment method.
“There is a need for clarification we want to make. It is not a concession or intervention by the federal government. It is not a subsidy either. The Vice President intervened because most of the pilgrims make purchases in the streets of Mecca or Medina, and they do not need debit cards to make their purchases. Now it is allowed for them to carry cash. The CBN will provide the cash at the market rate,” he said.
The Director of Human Resources at the CBN and Board member representing the CBN in NAHCON, Abba Muhammad Aliyu, explained that the CBN’s decision was based on the Nigerian government’s concern for the welfare of the pilgrims.
“Looking at the financial literacy of the pilgrims, there is a need for us to see that we make life easy for them because a lot of them do not know how to operate the ATM. So, these are some of the reasons the senior management of the Bank, in their own magnanimity upon the call of the Vice President, looked at those issues.”
Aliyu reiterated that the change was purely a modification of the payment method, replacing cards with cash, and not a concession.