The former Hajj Board has fired back at claims made by Collins Dauda, leader of the 2025 Hajj Task Force, regarding unpaid debts from previous Hajj operations. Apexnewsgh reports
In a statement, former Hajj Board Chairman Ben Abdallah Banda expressed concern over what he calls an incomplete narrative of the debts inherited by successive administrations.
According to Banda, when the Nana Akufo-Addo administration took office in 2017, it inherited a whopping $7.8 million debt from the previous Hajj managers under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government. This debt included payments from 425 prospective pilgrims who were unable to participate in the 2016 Hajj pilgrimage.
Banda praised former President Akufo-Addo and then Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia for ensuring that these stranded pilgrims were eventually airlifted. By the end of the Board’s tenure in 2024, the outstanding debt stood at $4,859,250, as documented in the official handing-over notes.
The former Board attributed the accumulation of debt in Hajj operations to foreign exchange fluctuations and urged the current Task Force to present a comprehensive historical account of the legacy debt. Despite the disagreement, the former Hajj Board extended its best wishes to the new Hajj Task Force, hoping for a successful organization of this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
