Ambassador Ismail Yusuf has been appointed as the new Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON)
Disclosing this in a statement on Wednesday, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanugu, said the appointment is subject to the Senate’s approval in accordance with the provisions of section 3(2) of the NAHCON Act, 2026.
“President Tinubu sent a letter today to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, requesting the expeditious confirmation of Ambassador Yusuf to replace Professor Abdullahi Usman, who resigned this week, after about 14 months in the post,” the statement read.
Yusuf is a seasoned Nigerian career diplomat who served as the Nigerian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Türkiye from 2021 to 2024.
Usman’s Resignation
Yusuf’s appointment comes a day after Professor Abdullahi Usman reportedly resigned from his position as NAHCON boss.
No official reason was given for the resignation at the time of filing this report.
Usman 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.
