NAHCO denies N778m fraud allegations

The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company has denied recent allegations of fraudulent activities involving the company’s role in the 2024 Hajj operations.

In a notice filed with the Nigeria Exchange Limited by the Company Secretary, NAHCO, Bello Abdullahi, refuted the claims.

The company described the allegations as “false, erroneous, and misleading,” insisting that the accusations were baseless and had no connection to the chairman of NAHCO.

“The content of the said social media post relates to alleged fraud in Hajj subsidy operations, pilgrims’ accommodations, and other Hajj-related matters, which have nothing to do with the Chairman of NAHCO PLC,” the statement read.

The firm’s chairman, Seinde Fadeni’s, alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds, including inflated estacodes, consultancy fees, and unaccounted cash withdrawals amounting to millions of naira, surfaced on social media.

The allegations, made by Mahdi Shehu on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), claim that Fadeni, along with other officials, paid themselves an inflated estacode of N137m.

Shehu also accused the NAHCO chairman of backdating documents and fraudulently approving the payment of N778m as consultancy fees to a non-existent contract.

“NAHCO chairman paid himself and other officials N137m inflated estacode and the same has been recovered by the EFCC. The same chairman backdated documents, inserted a proviso in the minutes of a meeting, used the same and fraudulently paid N778m as consultancy fees to a non-existing consultancy contract. Out of the N90bn Hajj subsidy, the chairman instructed the withdrawal of N3.7bn in cash, and the same is yet to be accounted for.

“All these are preliminaries. Full disclosures will reveal how pilgrims’ accommodation contracts were geometrically inflated, so also drugs, transportation, etc., almost all aspects of the hajj operations. When such shameful acts are committed in the process of discharging a religious pillar, by Muslims themselves who are given a trust, then Satan the devil has taken over their sense of commitment to God. They are simply industrial pretenders,” the post reads.

Furthermore, Shehu alleged that out of the N90bn Hajj subsidy for the year, the NAHCO chairman directed the withdrawal of N3.7bn in cash, which was yet to be accounted for.

The activist went on to claim that other aspects of the Hajj operations, such as pilgrims’ accommodations, drugs, and transportation, were massively inflated.

The company urged the public, customers, and shareholders to disregard the unfounded allegations, emphasising that NAHCO remained focused on delivering value and upholding the trust reposed in the board and management.

“NAHCO is committed to providing the highest standards of service and transparency in all its operations. The baseless claims circulating on social media are part of a smear campaign aimed at distracting us from our core mandate,” it said.

The aviation company reassured stakeholders of its commitment to ethical practices while encouraging the public to remain confident in the integrity of the organisation’s leadership.