President Bola Tinubu has approved the dissolution of the Board of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria.

Tinubu has also appointed Jalal Arabi to serve as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission.

Arabi will serve a term of four years in the first instance.

“The new Chairman / CEO of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Jalal Arabi, will assume office in acting capacity on October 18, 2023, and will continue to serve in substantive capacity for a fresh term of four years, beginning on January 17, 2024,” a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed on Tuesday.

The statement is titled ‘President Tinubu appoints new NAHCON Chief Executive Officer; approves dissolution of NAHCON Board.’

Consequently, Tinubu directed the outgoing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Zikrullah Hassan, to proceed on 3-months pre-retirement leave as provisioned by Public Service Rule 120243 with effect from October 18, 2023, leading to his eventual retirement from service on January 17, 2024.

The President said he “expects that the new NAHCON leadership will serve in reverence of Allah and with utmost adherence to the precepts of service according to the Holy Qur’an.”