The Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Ambassador Ismail Abba Yusuf, on Sunday commended members of the National Media Team to the 2026 Hajj for the quality of their reportage so far.

The NAHCON boss gave the commendation during a brief meeting he held with members of the team at the Ummul Jood office of the commission in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, adding that members deployed professionalism in their reportage.

Yusuf said the commission was very happy with members’ professionalism despite the stress they passed through during the pilgrimage at the Masha’ir (holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and Muzdalifah).

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He said the meeting was being held with the team with a view to appreciating them personally for a job well done rather than writing a letter of appreciation, adding that he was impressed with the quality of reports churned out by members.

According to Yusuf, “Thank you for the work you have done so far. I am very impressed with the quality of the reports that you have done. And I thought that I should meet with you and convey the appreciation of the commission personally rather than writing you a letter of recommendation.

“So I want to commend your experience, your professionalism in the face of extreme stress. We know that we do not have the resources to compensate you enough. Otherwise, we know the kind of job you do.

“We know the hazards involved. We know how far you have to trek sometimes. And especially during our and even in the very complicated terrain. We are very happy with the level of professionalism and the patience that you displayed.”

While expressing hope of further working with the members of the team in the future, Ambassador Yusuf said, “I thought we should come here and thank you for the job well done.

“We look forward to working with you in the future. We know that the compensation is nothing to write home about. We will review our budget next time to make sure that we give greater compensation to journalists, especially as it has to do with your personal funds.

“We know you will need transportation to move around.That we are going to put into consideration next time. So thank you very much.”

Speaking in the same vein, the Commissioner for Personnel, Research, Information and Library Services, Professor Abubakar Yagawwal, asserted that members of the media team came up with positive reports about the 2026 Hajj.

“We thank you abundantly. In fact, we appreciate your efforts in reporting the activities and the operation.

“This year, most of the reports have been very positive. Therefore, we thank you abundantly. And as I promised last year, we may look into the possibility of giving you slots next year, in shaa Allah.

“You know our chairman has the policy of reward and punishment. Well, I think most of the journalists are supposed to be rewarded,” Yagawwal said.