By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Facts have beginning to emerge on why Professor Abdullahi Sale Usman, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON), resigned from his position.

Since assuming office, Professor Usman was embroiled in a series of controversies ranging from questions over his competence and allegations of nepotism to concerns about his limited grasp of the administrative demands required to effectively manage Nigeria’s Hajj operations.

Investigations revealed that the final straw was a petition jointly written by all members of the NAHCON board, outlining serious concerns over his leadership. The petition was forwarded to the Presidency for action.

Sources further disclosed that the President was particularly displeased after being briefed on the reduction of Nigeria’s Hajj quota from 95,000 to 50,000 pilgrims, a development believed to have negatively impacted intending pilgrims nationwide.

In addition, reports from intelligence agencies and an ongoing financial investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were said to have compounded the situation, ultimately weakening the chairman’s position.

However, other sources disclosed that the decision was taken personally by Prof. Saleh after deep reflection, stressing that the move was not prompted by the board or external pressure, but by his desire to step aside at this time.

The sources further explained that Prof. Saleh chose to resign to allow the Commission remain focused on its core mandate as preparations intensify for upcoming Hajj operations. They added that he remains committed to cooperating with relevant authorities and believes his exit will help shield the institution from distractions, while arrangements are underway to ensure continuity at NAHCON.

Mr Usman, a professor, was appointed chairman of NAHCON by President Bola Tinubu in 2024. He oversaw his first Hajj operations in 2025, marking his debut in managing Nigeria’s Hajj affairs at the national level.

He was appointed in 2024 to replace Jalal Arabi, who was sacked by President Bola Tinubu. At the time he was removed, Mr Arabi was being investigated for allegedly misappropriating funds released by the federal government for the 2024 Islamic pilgrimage.

Despite the denial of the latter sources agreeing to the former sources Prof. Sale’s relatively short tenure was marked by a series of controversies that generated tension within the commission. Central to the disputes were allegations of financial mismanagement and misappropriation of funds during the 2025 Hajj exercise—claims that heightened internal disagreements and drew public attention to the commission.

The situation prompted the intervention of Vice President Kashim Shettima, who convened a meeting with key stakeholders approximately two weeks ago in an attempt to reconcile aggrieved parties and restore stability within NAHCON.

President and Chief Executive
Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) and Member, Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, Sir Victor Oluwafemi has said Electoral Reforms must follow readiness, not rhetoric as connectivity is still very low in rural areas of Nigeria.

The ADSC president made this assertion in a statement on Monday declaring that:

“The Office of the President and Chief Executive of the Africa Development Studies Centre (ADSC) issues this statement as an expert governance and public policy advisory on the ongoing national discourse surrounding electronic voting and real time transmission of election results in Nigeria.

“This intervention is not political. It is institutional, evidence based, and grounded in systems thinking drawn from comparative governance practice and digital transformation experience.

He insisted that Nigeria is not yet structurally ready for real time result transmission as Nigeria’s democratic aspiration must be matched by infrastructural reality.

“At present, the push for real time electronic transmission of election results risks prioritising speed over integrity, and visibility over verifiability.

“Nigeria still conducts elections through manual voting, manual counting, and physical documentation at polling units.

“Every valid result begins with paper processes, human procedures, and environmental dependencies that technology alone cannot correct.

“Without stable electricity, universal telecom coverage, cyber resilient systems, uniform training, and legal clarity, real time transmission remains aspirational rather than operational.

Oluwafemi explained that: “Attempting to enforce it nationwide under current conditions risks three serious outcomes:
• Disenfranchisement, particularly in rural and low connectivity communities
• Expanded cyber vulnerability, where perception of compromise alone can delegitimise outcomes
• Increased post election litigation, due to conflicting evidentiary standards

“Even advanced democracies do not prioritise instant transmission over auditability. They retain paper as the legal anchor while using technology to support verification, reconciliation, and transparency.

“The Issue Is Not Technology. It Is Sequencing.

“Electoral reform must be engineered as national infrastructure, not introduced as an election season feature.

“From a governance systems perspective, Nigeria requires a phased and platform based approach to electoral modernisation.

“This is where Policy as a Platform (PaaP) and Results as a Service (RaaS) provide practical, non partisan pathways forward.

What Policy as a Platform (PaaP) Offers INEC

“PaaP reframes electoral reform as a continuous, standards driven governance system.

Applied to the electoral process, PaaP would:
• Establish minimum national readiness thresholds for power, connectivity, cybersecurity, and device integrity
• Enable gradual, geographically sequenced deployment rather than a risky nationwide switch
• Align law, operations, technology, and dispute resolution into one coherent electoral platform
• Institutionalise transparency and auditability as design features, not post election explanations

“Under PaaP, elections are treated as engineered systems, not improvised events.

What Results as a Service (RaaS) Delivers

“RaaS shifts national focus away from how quickly results appear, towards how credibly they are produced.

For electoral administration, RaaS would:
• Treat each polling unit result as a verified service output with defined checks and validation stages
• Prioritise reconciliation, traceability, and audit trails before public visibility
• Reduce disputes by strengthening confidence in process rather than accelerating announcements
• Measure success by acceptance and legitimacy, not by transmission speed

In democratic governance, trust is built on proof, not on immediacy.

ADSC Advisory Position

“Nigeria does not need to abandon electoral technology. It needs to respect the order of reform.

“Infrastructure must come before automation. Verification must come before visibility. Trust must come before speed.

“Until foundational gaps in power, connectivity, cybersecurity, operational discipline, and legal coherence are addressed, real time electronic transmission of results should remain a medium term objective, not an immediate mandate.

“Electoral reform must be deliberate, inclusive, and system ready.

“That is how democracies endure, he added.

The chairman of the national Hajj commission of Nigeria ,Professor Abdullahi Sale Usman has resigned

A credible source told Nigerian Tracker about the development.

Since his appointment as NAHCON chairman the source said Professor Pakistan is battling with intense pressure from some quarters despite that he did not commit any wrong.