President Bola Tinubu has proposed Amb. Ismail Abba Yusuf to be the new Chairman and CEO of the National Hajj Commission, or NAHCON. His Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanugu, made this announcement on Wednesday. According to the statement, the Senate must approve the appointment in line with section 3(2) of the NAHCON Act of 2026. Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President, received a letter from President Tinubu today, requesting the swift confirmation of Ambassador Yusuf to succeed Professor Abdullahi Usman, who resigned this week after serving in the position for approximately 14 months.
From 2021 to 2024, Yusuf, a seasoned Nigerian career diplomat, held the position of Nigerian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Turkey.
The nomination of Yusuf comes after Abdullahi Usman, the immediate past chairman of NAHCON, resigned on Monday. From 2021 to 2024, he was Nigeria's extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador to the Republic of Turkey.
Following the dismissal of Jalal Arabi, who was being investigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged mismanagement of the N90 billion presidential subsidy for the 2024 hajj.