Jaiz Bank Plc, the premier non-interest Bank in Nigeria and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) have signed a Hajj Savings Scheme that would make it easier for every Muslim in the country to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Chairman of Jaiz Bank Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Abdul Mutallab and Managing Director Hassan Usman signed the agreement on behalf of the bank while Chairman/Chief Executive of NAHCON Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan for Hajj Commission.
In his remark, Jaiz Bank MD said the scheme was aimed at making hajj more accessible to “our Muslim Ummah.”
With this scheme, intending pilgrims can now save for hajj overtime and specify when they intend to go for Hajj. A dedicated portal is now open for intending pilgrims to open accounts and start saving until that period they are ready to perform the Hajj exercise without hassle.
Hassan Usman said the Hajj Savings Scheme perfectly matches what Jaiz Bank stands for as “the main purpose of setting up the bank is to meet the aspirations of Muslim Ummah. We are liberalizing and enabling everybody to go for Hajj.”
He said because the bank is committed to the success of the scheme, a unit has been created to specifically handle the Hajj Saving Scheme process while a robust IT infrastructure to make it easier is being put in place.
In his speech, the bank’s Chairman Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Abdul Mutallab said signing the agreement was a significant milestone in terms of hajj operations in Nigeria as the implementation of the scheme would positively impact every stakeholder.
He said: “With the scheme, intending pilgrims can plan and actualize their dreams by saving gradually as more people would be empowered to go for hajj.”
Chairman of NAHCON Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan said the scheme is an innovation designed to fast tract hajj exercise.
He said the aim was to subsidized hajj payment and ensure long term strategic planning that would enable every intending pilgrim to make “deposit at their convenient.”
