By Usman Gwadabe
The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR) and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on capacity building and training to enhance the performance of the Commission’s staff during Hajj operations.
A statement signed by the Director, Media and Public Relations of NIHOTOUR, Ahmed Mohammed Sule said, during a brief ceremony at the Headquarters of the Institute in Abuja, its Director General, Alhaji Nura Sani Kangiwa, said the Institute is poised to bring its wealth of experience to bear in offering high quality training of the commission’s staff for better service delivery.
He said as the nation’s apex travel-tourism and hospitality training Institute, NIHOTOUR, will ensure that NAHCON staffers get the best training necessary that will impact positively on their job performance and output and ensure greater successes for a hitch-free hajj operation.
Also speaking, the Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikirullah Kunle Hassan, said it is the desire of his organisation to deliver to the Nigerian pilgrims the best of services in Hajj operations that attracted him to NIHOTOUR and has full confidence that the partnership will work successfully well for both parties.
Alhaji Hassan said Hajj operation is a Trillion Dollar Global business that should not be toyed with, noting that Nigeria is set to key into the economic gains and spiritual benefits of the hajj operations with maximum comfort and satisfaction guaranteed to all Nigerian pilgrims.
He said the Commission has been against the annual political jamboree associated with hajj operation whereby government at the three tier levels sponsor pilgrims to the Holy land, pointing out that it was a welcome development that since the inception of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration such luxury and flamboyant financial extravaganza has been stopped and individuals are allowed to fend for themselves as part of their religious obligations.
He pledged that the Commission will not rest on its oars but continue to explore all means and avenues that will ensure the successful and hitch-free operations of the annual religious exercise.
Present at the ceremony which seeks to train and impact skills on NAHCON staff as well as provide a Staff Training Centre for the Commission by NIHOTOUR, were management staff and officials of the two government agencies coordinated by Heads of their Legal Units.
